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Mum Bett Case
Mum Bett was born into slavery, and her owner was very abusive to her. She filed a lawsuit against her owner, and won her freedom because of the Massachusetts constitution. -
Northwest Ordinance.
This law prohibited slavery in the territories north and west of the Ohio River. -
3/5 Compromise
This was a compromise between the United States written in the constitution that ⅗ of the enslaved population would count to the total population. This helped balance the power in the House of Representatives between the North and South. -
Creation of the Cotton Gin
The cotton gin was invented by Eli Whitney, his goal was to not manually have to separate cotton. This creation led to a faster pace of separating cotton, but it led to an increase of slavery. -
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American Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a change in how consumer goods were made. They were made by machines in mass production rather than being made by hand. -
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Second Great Awakening
This was a time period where Protestant Christianity became a huge part in people’s lives. This was the idea that God has pre decided everything, and they must do what he says. -
Louisiana Purchase
Thomas Jefferson bought a big chunk of land from France for 15 million dollars. This was a controversial decision because it didn’t follow the constitution, he ignored the people and set the precedent for westward expansion. -
Missouri Compromise
This compromise was that Missouri would be admitted as a slave state, and Maine would be admitted as a free state. This was to keep the balance in the Senate, and slavery would not be allowed North of the 36 30 line. -
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Nat Turner's Rebellion
Nat Turner was a man born into slavery, and he believed that he was a chosen person to get rid of slavery. He started a rebellion that attacked 4 plantations and many white Americans. -
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Mexican-American War
After Texas got annexed there was no established border between Mexico and Texas. This angered Mexico, so they sent troops out to fight. In the end, America won and they got Texas and all the land west to California. -
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California Gold Rush
Once gold was found in California around 300,000 people went there hoping to strike it rich. -
Compromise of 1850
The goal of this compromise was to resolve issues with slavery and expansion. California became a free state, tightened the Fugitive Slave laws in the North, popular sovereignty decided slavery in the Utah and New Mexico territroy, and outlawed the slave trade in D.C.. -
Frederick Douglass gives July 4th Speech
Frederick Douglass gave a speech at a celebration for Independence day, and he criticized America’s actions regarding slavery and the hypocrisy of the country. -
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"Bleeding Kansas"
Bleeding Kansas was a time where people fought on whether slavery should be allowed there. When the voting took place, people from surrounding states traveled to Kansas to vote and violence broke out. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
This act revealed that all new territories that joined the union would decide slavery laws based on popular sovereignty. -
Attack on Charles Sumner
Anti-slavery Senator from Massachusetts was beaten with a cane by a pro-slavery Rep. He was in the middle of making a speech criticizing slavery and the ideas behind it. -
Dred Scott v Sanford
After his owner died, Dred Scott sued his owner’s wife, Scott argued that they lived in free states so he should be free. The court ruled Scott was not a citizen and wasn’t allowed to sue; They also ruled that the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional and they weren’t allowed to limit slavery. -
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Raid on Harpers Ferry
John Brown, an abolitionist, led a group of men to Harpers Ferry, Virginia with the goal of using violence to protest slavery. The raid was unsuccessful and Brown was charged with treason that led to death. -
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Southern Seccession
In this time period, 11 Southern states left the union. They left because they were angered by the potential abolition of slavery and losing power/influence in the government. -
Election of 1860
The presidential election included Abraham Lincoln, John Breckenridge, Stephen Douglas, and John Bell. Lincoln won the electoral college and popular vote. This was a very divided vote as people in the North voted for Lincoln while in the South Breckenridge was the majority. -
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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 were attacked by the South Carolina militia. Union lost and surrendered the fort to the Confederate militia.