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The Missouri Compromise was accepted due to the fact allowed certain new territories to be slave and non slave states. It also maintained congressional balance in the Senate. It admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a non slave state. It proposed that slavery be prohibited above the 36' 30' latitude line in the remainder of the Louisiana Territory. -
This war was fought between Mexico and the united states for a number of reasons.
1. Mexican unwillingness to recognize Texas independence 2. The desire of Texans for statehood
3. American desire for westward expansion On May 13, 1846, the United States Congress declared war on Mexico after a request from President James K. Polk. Then, on May 26, 1848, both sides ratified the peace treaty that ended the conflict. Mexico was essentially broke. -
The Wilmot Proviso was an attempt to ban the expansion of slavery into any territory captured from Mexico as a result from the Mexican-American war settlement. It was a proposal by David Wilmot. The free states voted to pass it and with this in mind the pro-slavery states were against its passage. This proposal was significant because it showed the diversity regarding slavery around the country. The Wilmot Proviso wa not successful and did not pass. -
The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 was part of the Compromise of 1850. The act required that slaves be returned to their owners, even if they were in a free state. Anyone helping a slave escape could be imprisoned for six months and fined the enormous sum of one thousand dollars. Many Northerners openly defied the law, which angered Southerners. This law produced widespread outrage in the North and convinced thousands of Northerners that slavery should be barred from the western territories. -
The Compromise of 1850 was a failed attempt to diffuse a tense political situation between free and slave states that had surfaced after the Mexican-American War. The south was guaranteed that no federal restrictions on slavery would be placed on Utah or New Mexico. The Congress compensated Texas with $10 million due to the fact that They lost boundary claims to New Mexico. Slave trade was prohibited but maintained in the nation's capital. California was admitted to a free state. -
Uncle Tom’s Cabin tells a story of an enslaved person, the book was a piece of activism and was meant to convey the evils of slavery to a national and general audience. The book was banned in Southern United States in 1852. It's anti-slavery message obviously bothered some individuals. The book portrays that slaves were considered and treated as objects and not as people. -
The Kansas-Nebraska Act repealed the Missouri Compromise, allowing slavery in the territory north of the 36° 30´ latitude. It also produced a violent uprising known as “Bleeding Kansas,” as proslavery and antislavery activists flooded into the territories to sway the vote. The south benefited from this because it paved the way for slavery to expand in Western territories. Popular sovereignty ~ a vote if their state would be free or a slave state. -
the US supreme court stated that slaves were not citizens of the US and as a result could not expect any protection from the federal gov or courts. Dred Scott and his wife sued for their freedom. The decision of Scott v. Sandford was overturned by the 13th and 14th amendments to the Constitution. Slavery was abolished and it was stated that a person born within the United States is a citizen no matter their race. -
On October 8, 1859 John Brown led 18 of his men towards Harpers Ferry at 8pm. At 12 am, the following day, Lewis Washington and John Allstadt were taken hostage and all of the people whom they enslaved were freed. It was an attempt to start an armed revolt of enslaved people and destroy the institution of slavery. Brown's army was made up of 21 men, 2 were previously enslaved African Americans. Many did not agree with the violent methods and the raid was overall not a success. -
Many say that the election of 1860 shaped the future of the United states and was a turning point in American history. Abraham Lincoln (Republican) won against John Breckinridge (Democrat) and Constitutional Union Candidate, John Bell, with 40% of the popular vote and a large majority of electoral votes. The South saw Lincoln as a threat to slavery and felt that they no longer had a voice in politics.