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Mum Bett Case
Mum Bett, an enslaved woman, was burned by her owner. She then used the court system to gain freedom from enslavement. This set a precedent of enslaved using the court system to gain freedom. This led to more people fighting for their rights legally, which soon became an issue in government. This created a big conflict involved in the civil war. -
⅗ Compromise
This is when the Southern states wanted enslaved people to count in population so they could get more Representatives and power over Congress. To make a compromise they counted the enslaved as ⅗ of s person. This increased the amount of power the South had in congress, increasing the spread of Southern perspectives and laws. This was with slavery and made it hard to abolish it. -
Northwest Ordinance
This was when a framework for Northwest states was established. This document clearly forbids slavery in this territory. This made the perspective of the north very clear and ended slavery in that whole area. This angered the South and increased tensions. -
Creation of the Cotton Gin
A man named Eli Whitney created a piece of technology to clean cotton more efficiently. As cotton was cleaned quicker, the demand for enslaved people harvesting it the fields. This caused more and more slaves to be brought into the south to work the fields, slowing the abolishment of slavery. -
Second Great Awakening
This was when people started to discover religion again. They start to have religious revivals mostly attended by black Americans and women. Faith empowered the black Americans and women to speak out in government and fight for their rights. This angered not all but many white men and increased tension. -
Louisiana Purchase
This was when Abraham Lincoln bought Louisiana for 15 million dollars from France. This set the precedent for westward expansion. This contributed to the tensions causing the civil war. The more land coming into the US meant that they had to decide was was free land and what was pro-slavery land. This caused a lot of fighting. -
Missouri Compromise
This was when the government was deciding whether to bring Missouri in as a slave or free state. To keep a balanced senate, they decided to bring in Maine as a free state and Missouri a slave state. They also made the top half of a line free and the bottom half enslaved. This did not work as it wasn't a permanent solution. This also angered pro-slavery people as they couldn't spread and increase slavery. -
Nat Turner's Rebellion
A man named Nat Turner led enslaved people to invade and attack whites in Virginia who supported slavery. This was a very violence event that led to many deaths. This caused the government to create stricter laws for enslaved people. They were no longer trusted with rights such as preaching. -
Mexican-American War
This was when the US and Mexico had a war over land. One big piece of land fought over was Texas. This resulted in the Texas Annexation. This pushed westward expansion and the addition of land. This caused lots of debate over what states were free and pro-slavry. -
California Gold Rush
This was when lots of gold was found in California. People started to move there to mine gold and become rich. This event increased tension between the North and the South. Both sides migrated to California for gold. This caused a big debate over whether California will enter the nation as a free or enslaved state. -
Compromise of 1850
This was the compromise created to solve the issue of whether California would be a free state or not. They made California a free state, but strengthened the Fugitive Slave law to keep both sides on board. This event contributed to the civil war as it provided a temporary solution. This would not solve the issue permanently for when even more states join the union. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
This was when they granted the people of the state to vote on whether they entered the union as a free or enslaved state. This led to a lot of violence between the two sides to get what they wanted. This largely increased tension and was one of the events that really got the ball rolling towards the civil war. -
Frederick Douglass gives July 4th Speech
This was when a formerly enslaved man named Frederick Douglass made a speech about how 4th of July is not the freedom of America as a lot of the population is enslaved. This did not work as it wasn't a permanent solution. This also angered pro-slavery people as they couldn't spread and increase slavery. -
"Bleeding Kansas"
This was when Kansas was entering the union and there was a heated argument on whether they would join pro-slavery or anti-slavery. This turned extremely violent as people tried to push their side. This increased violence throughout the two sides. This also created a more violent environment for this long running fight resulting in a war. -
Attack on Charles Sumner
This was when the Senator of Massachusetts, Charles Sumner was attacked by Representation Preston Brooks from South Carolina. Sumner was attacked for giving a anti-slavery speech and suffered many injuries, some of which including almost being blinded. This escalated the violence involved in this fight. The civil war was very violent and this was a key moment that brought violence in to the fight as a significant tactic used against each other -
Dred Scott v Sanford
This was a court case against an enslaved man named Dred Scott who had been living with his enslaver for a while in a free state. This case ruled that African American men were not citizens so they couldn't even use the court system. This event invalidated the Missouri Compromise. This angered the north who were using this as a key point to end slavery. This also made enslaved people not citizens which caused a lot of anger. This took all legal tactics they could use to free themselves. -
Raid on Harpers Ferry
This was when a anti-slavery supporter John Brown made a plan to arm slaves and invade Harpers Ferry. This was a very violent event with many dying. He was unsuccessful and executed for treason. This caused the Southern militia to become stronger. They got stronger protection against slaves and this set back the antislavery movement a little bit. -
Election of 1860
This was when Lincoln did not appear on the ballot for South Carolina and 9 other Southern States. This caused them to withdraw or secede from the nation. This caused other Southern states that supported South Carolina to also threaten to withdraw. This impacted the civil war as it angered the Southern States. They thought that no matter what they wanted, the government would ignore it and overrule it. The South feared that the same thing would happen with slavery. -
Southern Secession
This was when Lincoln did not appear on the ballot for South Carolina and 9 other Southern States. This caused them to withdraw or secede from the nation. This caused other Southern states that supported South Carolina to also threaten to withdraw. This impacted the civil war as it angered the Southern States. They thought that no matter what they wanted, the government would ignore it and overrule it. The South feared that the same thing would happen with slavery. -
Shots fired at Ft. Sumter
This was the official start of the fighting in the American Civil War. Union troops (Northern troops) stationed at Fort. Sumter in South Carolina was attacked by the South Carolina militia. Union lost and surrendered the fort to the Confederate militia. Unlike previous acts of violence, this was the first time violence broke out between organized military units. Fighting in the Civil War would continue for 4 more years after this event. -
American Industrial Revolution
This was when the North created an efficient way to make cotton into fabric using a factory system. This required an increase in need for cotton. The higher demand for cotton also increased the need for field workers. This increased the amount of enslaved people as those were the people who actually harvested the cotton material.