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The Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise was a piece of legislation passed in order to admit Missouri into the United States as a slave State. Opposed to an imbalance of slave to non-slave states, the North initially opposed this decision, but accepted it with the clauses that Maine would be accepted into the United States as a non-slave state, and that there would be no more slave states to be formed above the 36º 30' latitude line. -
The Wilmot Proviso
The Wilmot Proviso was a failed proposal aimed to prohibit the development of slavery within the recently acquired land from the Mexican-American war. David Wilmot proposed this, and was subsequently denied after the two houses could not come to an agreement on the proposal. It ended in tensions rising for both the North and South. -
Compromise of 1850
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Kansas Nebraska Act
The Kansas Nebraska Act was established by Stephen Douglas in order to permit Kansas and Nebraska into the United States. In order to ensure his bill was accepted, Douglas included the clause that Kansas and Nebraska would elect democratically whether to become a slave state or a free state under the idea of Popular Sovereignty. Upon the passing of this bill, Kansas shortly erupted into chaos, ensuing what is now known as Bleeding Kansas, and what some consider the beginning of the Civil War. -
Dred Scott vs. Sandford
One of the most infamous legal rulings from the Supreme Court. Dred Scott had visited a Northern state with his master, where he claimed to have been freed due to residing in the state for a period of time. When denied his request, he brought his case to court, and eventually to the Supreme Court. The final ruling was that Dred was not a free man, but rather because he was property, and not a citizen of the United States, he was unable to function without the support of a white owner. -
John Brown's Raid on Harpers Ferry
John Brown was an avid abolitionist, and with the recent developments with Kansas and Nebraska, he decided to venture to Kansas to begin a conquest of making a statement against slavery. His conquest led him to Harpers Ferry, where he took over and occupied the depot for about 2 days. In this time he took hostages and made proclamations against slavery. The takeover ended when general Robert E. Lee captured him, and later hung him. This takeover cemented him as a historical figure. -
The Election of 1860
The Election of 1860 was a pivotal election for the American people as it would be the deciding event that determined whether the South would secede from the Union and form its own Confederacy. The election threw 4 candidates each other in a "race" for the presidency, Republican Abraham Lincoln, Democratic Stephen Douglas, Southern Democratic John Breckinridge, and Constitutional Union Party John Bell. The result of the election was a win for Lincoln, and the secession of the Southern States.