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Compromise of 1850
California requested to join the Union in 1849. This would upset the balance between the free states and slave states. Once again, Henry Clay came up with a compromise on January 29, 1850. California was admitted as a free state and a terrirotial government was created in Utah. It also banned the slave trade in DC and settled the boundry dispute between Texas and New Mexico. This is significant because it caused an even bigger rift between the North and South over slavery. -
The Fugitive Slave Law
The Fugitive Slave Law was a part of the Compromise of 1850 created by Henry Clay and was passed on September 18, 1850. The law benefitted slaveowners. It said that citizens had to help find fugitive slaves. Even blacks that were free were captured and sent to the South to be slaves. Officials would be fined if they didn't help find runaway slaves. Anyone who helped the runaways would recieve a fine and imprisonment. This is important because it made it harder to end slavery. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin was an anti-slavery book published on March 20, 1852 written by Harriett Beecher Stowe. The book was portrayed in the perspective of a slave and showed people the true horrors of slavery. It became the bestselling novel of the 19th century which proves that it had lots of impact on the daily lives of citizens. It changed many into abolitionists and made abolitionists want to fight harder to stop slavery. -
Dred Scott v. Sanford
Dred Scott was a slave. He sued his owner, John Sanford, in federal court because Sanford was technically a resident in New York. It was a big landmark in Supreme Court history. They favored Sanford. The verdict was that African Americans, freed or enslaved, were not citizens and could never be citizens, so Scott had no right to sue. This is important because it made it harder to end slavery now that the Supreme Court and constitution weren't on their side. -
John Brown's Raid on Haper's Ferry
John Brown was an abolitionist who moved slaves across the Appalachian Mountains into Pennsylvania. He wanted to start a revolt by seizing the arsenal at Harper's Ferry in Virgina. The events lasted from October 16, 1859-October 18, 1859. His plan didn't work out well. U.S. Marines led by Robert E. Lee came and defeated Brown and his men. Brown was charged with treason and hanged. This is important because it raised the stakes in the election of 1860 and created even more tension. -
The Election of 1860
Abraham Lincoln, John C. Breckinridge, John Bell, and Stephen A. Douglas were the candidates of the election of 1860. Lincoln and Douglas had already faced each other in an election to become a senator for Illinois. While Lincoln wanted to completely abolish slavery, Breckinridge supported its spread. Lincoln won both the Electoral College vote and the popular vote. No one, though, won the majority of the popular vote. After Lincoln won and became the president, South Carolina seceded.
