-
Period: to
Second Great Awakening
The Second Great Awakening was a protestant religious revival during the early 19th century in the United States. It spread religion through revivals and emotional preaching, this sparked a number of reform movements. The ethics of the Second Great Awakening were anti slavery. This forced southern enslavers to modify how they justify slavery. -
Creation of Cotton Gin
Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin, a machine that quickly and easily separates cotton fibers from their seeds. This enabled much greater productivity than manual cotton separation. Cotton became a mass production crop, this increased the need for slavery. This relates to increasing tension in America because slavery caused racial inequality and discrimination in the future. -
Louisiana Purchase
The US wanted control of the Mississippi River and the port of New Orleans. President Jefferson purchased territory from France for $15 million. The Louisiana Purchase caused land disputes over slavery to erupt. This relates to increasing tension in America because the many people fought over whether slavery would be allowed in the territory or not. -
Period: to
American Industrial Revolution
The Revolution was a change in the way goods are produced, shifting away from individual hand-produced goods made in the home, towards mass-produced goods made by machines in factories. The Industrial Revolution caused discrimination against and stereotyping of women workers. This relates to increasing tension in America because it helped establish patterns of gender inequality in the workplace that lasted in the eras that followed. -
Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise was a federal legislation that stopped northern attempts to forever prohibit slavery's expansion by admitting Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state. The Missouri Compromise line will be overturned by the Dred Scott case. This line further divided the people of the US by the issue of slavery.
(Map Of The Missouri Compromise) -
Period: to
Nat Turner’s Rebellion
The Nat Turner’s Rebellion was a rebellion of enslaved Virginians (led by Nat Turner) that took place in August 1831 in Southampton County, Virginia. The rebels killed between 55 and 65 people, at least 51 of whom were white. The Nat Turner Rebellion caused people in the american government to tighten fugitive slave laws. This affected the treatment of enslaved people because enslavers became way more cautious and harsh to their slaves. -
Nullification Crisis (President Jackson)
The Nullification Crisis was a confrontation between South Carolina and the federal government in 1832–33. South Carolina declared the federal Tariffs of 1828 and 1832 unconstitutional and therefore null and void within the sovereign boundaries of the state. The Nullification Crisis furthered the tensions between the North and South. It showed how eager states were ready to secede.
(Image of President Thomas Jefferson In Hamilton - the one in purple). -
Period: to
Mexican American War
An armed conflict that followed the 1845 U.S. annexation of Texas, which Mexico considered Mexican territory since the Mexican government did not recognize the Velasco treaty signed by Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna when he was a prisoner of the Texian Army during the 1836 Texas Revolution. The Mexican American war occurred when many rushed to Texas because of Manifest Destiny. There was good land there for plantations so it was very desirable to manu enslavers who worked on farms. -
Period: to
California Gold Rush
The gold rush was when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California. The California gold rush caused California to show their desires to become a free state, this makes southerners angry. They view this as a direct attack on southerners since most of California is below the Mason-Dixon Line. -
Compromise of 1850
The compromise was a United States federal legislation that stopped northern attempts to forever prohibit slavery's expansion by admitting Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state. The compromise of 1850 caused Southerners to become so angry that it would tip the number of free state senators. It also made the southern states want to secede more.
(Map Of The Compromise Of 1850) -
Period: to
Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote Uncle Tom’s Cabin
An anti-slavery novel that had a profound effect on attitudes toward African Americans and slavery in the U.S. Many people became abolitionists after reading the novel. It changed a lot of people’s views who were in the middle about slavery. -
Frederick Douglass gives July 4th Speech
A speech given by Frederick Douglass at an event commemorating the signing of the Declaration of Independence, it was held at Rochester's Corinthian Hall. Frederick Douglass’s speech caused more people to become abolitionists. Douglas gave a first person perspective on the mistreatment that he had experienced, this helped persuade people to change the way they see these things.
(Image of Frederick Douglass). -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
The Kansas–Nebraska Act was a territorial organic act that created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska. Kansas and Nebraska were both above the Mason Dixon Line, so when the Kansas-Nebraska Acts happened, many northerners got angry. They believed that they should be free states due to the Missouri compromise, this meant people from both sides started questioning which laws they needed to follow.
(Image Of Kansas-Nebraska Map) -
Period: to
“Bleeding Kansas”
A series of violent civil confrontations in Kansas Territory, and to a lesser extent in western Missouri. These violent confrontations that occurred in Kansas worsened the tension between people. Violence that erupts on both sides, this killed over 200 people. -
Attack on Charles Sumner
A pro-slavery Democrat from South Carolina, beat Senator Charles Sumner, an abolitionist Republican from Massachusetts, with a walking cane. The attack showed American Citizens how unstable the government had become. This increased tensions in the government between lawmakers.
(Image of Charles Sumner). -
Dred Scott v Sanford
The case was a decade-long fight for freedom by a Black enslaved man named Dred Scott. It was discovered that the Supreme Court’s ruling of the Missouri Compromise had been unconstitutional. This caused many to be cautious of the court’s decisions.
(Image of Dred Scott) -
Period: to
Raid on Harpers Ferry
John Brown led a raid against a federal armory in Harpers Ferry. John Brown’s revolt caused many states to be afraid of this happening on their land. Many southern starters strengthened their militias. -
Election of 1860
In the US Election of 1860, Republican nominee Abraham Lincoln competed with Democratic Party nominee Senator Stephen Douglas, and Southern Democratic Party nominee John Breckinridge competed with Constitutional Union Party nominee John Bell. Lincoln won without being on the ballot in 10 southern states since there were more people living in the north. Southerners became angry and they felt that their beliefs didn’t really affect the government's decisions.
(Image of Abraham Lincoln) -
Period: to
Southern Secession
When all the southern states left the union. The Southern Secession increased tension between southerners and northerners to the max. War was beginning to become a serious topic that was greatly discussed. -
Period: to
Shots fired at Ft. Sumter
This was the official start of fighting in the American Civil War. Union troops (northern troops) stationed at Ft. Sumter in South Carolina were attacked by the South Carolina militia. Union troops 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 troops. Fighting in the Civil War would continue for 4 more years after this event.