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In 1820, the Missouri Compromise was a law that was passed in the U.S. Congress from the idea of Henry Clay that admitted Missouri to the Union as a slave state and Maine as a free state, while banning slavery from the remaining Louisiana Purchase lands located north of the 36º 30’ parallel. This event occurred due to Missouri and Maine wanting to be admitted to the Union. -
The Dred Scott case, also known as Dred Scott v. Sandford, was a decade-long fight for freedom by a Black enslaved man named Dred Scott. Scott and his wife argued that their residence in a free state and a free territory had freed them from the bonds of slavery. The case persisted through several courts and ultimately reached the U.S. Supreme Court, whose decision incensed abolitionists, gave momentum to the anti-slavery movement, and served as a stepping stone to the Civil War. -
The Wilmot Proviso was an important proposal to Congress in the 1840s, proposed in 1846 by David Wilmot, to prohibit the extension of slavery into the territories within the land acquired as a result of the Mexican War. The Wilmot Proviso was not passed, but it led to the Compromise of 1850. It was proposed in the House of Representatives, where it passed, but failed to pass the Senate. -
The Compromise of 1850 consists of five laws passed in September of 1850 in Congress that dealt with the issue of slavery and territorial expansion to settle regional disagreements. It was proposed by Senator Henry Clay. California became a free state and the borders of Texas were settled, with areas ceded by Texas becoming the recognized territories of New Mexico and Utah. It overturned the Missouri Compromise and left the overall issue of slavery unsettled. -
Passed on September 18, 1850, by Congress. Passed in Congress, the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 was part of the Compromise of 1850. It was put in place after pressure from the South. The act required that slaves be returned to their owners, even if they were in a free state. The act also made the federal government responsible for finding, returning, and trying escaped slaves. It resulted in many free blacks being illegally captured and sold into slavery. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Stowe wrote Uncle Tom's Cabin in reaction to recently tightened fugitive slave laws. Published in two volumes in 1852, the novel had a profound effect on attitudes toward African Americans and slavery in the U.S., and is said to have "helped lay the groundwork for the American Civil War". -
The Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854 was a territorial organic act that was created to admit the territories of Kansas and Nebraska to the United States. It was drafted by Democratic Senator Stephen Douglas and passed in the United States Congress. The act led to Bleeding Kansas. Bleeding Kansas describes the period of repeated outbreaks of violent guerrilla warfare between pro-slavery and anti-slavery forces following the creation of the new territory of Kansas in 1854. -
Lincoln-Douglas debates were a series of seven debates between the Democratic senator Stephen A. Douglas and Republican challenger Abraham Lincoln during the 1858 Illinois senatorial campaign, largely concerning the issue of slavery extension into the territories. The debates, each three hours long, were convened in Illinois at different locations. The debates occurred based on the general debate of slavery. Because of the debates, Lincoln's career was propelled, while Douglas's was stifled. -
John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry was an effort by abolitionist John Brown, who led a small group, from October 16 to 18, 1859, to initiate an armed revolt of enslaved people and destroy the institution of slavery in Southern states by taking over the United States arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia. Although the raid failed, it inflamed sectional tensions and raised the stakes for the 1860 presidential election. -
The Election of 1860 occurred on November 6th, 1860 all around the U.S. The election was strongly based on the debate of slavery. The election was unusual because four strong candidates competed for the presidency. The candidates were Abraham Lincoln, Stephen Douglas, John Breckinridge and John Bell. The Republican Candidate, Abrham Lincoln, would be elected. The Election of 1860 demonstrated the divisions within the United States just before the Civil War. -
The southern secession was the withdrawal of 11 slave states from the Union during 1860–61 following the election of Abraham Lincoln as president. The states that seceded were South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina. It took place in the United States. The southern secession took place because of the debate over slavery. It led to the establishment of the Confederacy and ultimately the Civil War.