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Missouri Compromise
Congress passed bill that said Missouri could be a slave state if there were no other states on the Louisiana Purchase that would allow slavery. Kept the Union together for more than 30 years even though lots from both sides were opposed. Later, it will be repealed with the Kansas-Nebraska Act. -
Wilmot Proviso
Banned slavery from any new state bought from Mexico. Many southerners, due to their beliefs, were against this act. Language was from the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, so some think it wasn't originally his idea. -
Free Soil Party
Consisted of former Whigs and Democrats. Opposed the expansion of slavery West. This party was eventually dissolved into the Republican party. -
Compromise of 1850
New version of Fugitive Slave Act. President Zachary Taylor opposed this compromise, but he died soon after. This compromise was eventually approved, and it let Congress avoid sectional/slavery issues for years. -
Fugitive Slave Act
Heightened northerners fear of slave power. It said that if a slave ran away from the plantation, they were to be sent back upon finding them. Free states had to also send back runaway slaves if they were found there. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Written by Harriett Beecher Stowe. It showed the evils of slavery. It's about an old slave that was beat to death by his owner. Lots of northerners changed their views on slavery after reading the book. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
Divided land into Kansas and Nebraska. Determined that slavery was decided with popular sovereignty. Then violence started happening in the senate. Northerners thought this meant that the Missouri Compromise was repealed. -
Pottowatomi Creek Killings
John Brown and his sons took the law into their own hands because of all the other violence going on in Kansas. They went to Pottowatomi Creek and killed five pro-slavery men out of their houses in the middle of the night. Brown and his sons killed the men because it was what god wanted them to do. -
Dred Scott Decision
He was a slave. He lived with his owner in a free state, but they moved back to a slave state. The owner died when they moved back, so Scott had an abolitionist make a case for him. Scott was determined to be property and not a citizen, so he couldn't file a suit. This made the Missouri Compromise repeal. -
Loncoln-Douglas Debate
Douglas believed in popular sovereignty in deciding between slaves or no slaves. Lincoln wanted slavery completely banned. If the fighting continued, Lincoln predicted that the union would be ripped apart. -
Raid on Harper's Ferry
John Brown brought five blacks and thirteen whites to Harper's Ferry to raid an arsenal. This would then ensue a slave revolt. Unfortunately for Brown, the slaves didn't want to help him. John Brown was finally found guilty of treason and murder. -
Election of 1860
Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas ran against each other. Even though the Southerners supported and voted for Douglas, Lincoln won the election. Lincoln being elected made many of the Southerners talk about seceding from the Union.
