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Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 composed of five separate bills passed which defused confrontation between the slave states of the South and the free states of the North regarding the status of territories acquired during the Mexican-American. The Fugitive Slave Act was amended and Washington DC was abolished as a result of this compromise. It also resulted in California entering as a free state, and the creation of a territorial government in Utah. -
Fugitive Slave Law
Northern officials were forced to recapture runaway slaves who were fleeing to Canada, where there were safe missions for fugitives.They were allowed to seize alleged fugitives without the due process of law. This law endangered the safety of all blacks, both slave and free, and forced many Northerners to become more defiant in their support of fugitives. -
Uncle Tom’s Cabin publication
Written by Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom's Cabin is credited with helping spread the cause of the abolitionists. The novel was able to show people the real horrors of slavery. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854
The Kansas–Nebraska Act created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska, opening new lands for settlement, and had the effect of repealing the Missouri Compromise of 1820. The Act was designed by Douglas, who believed in popular-sovereignty and thought that would ease national tensions over the issue of human bondage. However, it resulted in tearing apart the different political parties; the Democratic Party and the Whig Party. -
Brooks attacks Sumner in Senate
After the violence broke out in Kansas, Senator Charles Sumner made attacks on the members of the Republican party becase of it. In order to defend them, Representative Preston Brooks used his cane to beat Sumner in his own office. Brooks became a hero in the South, but an symbol of inflexiblity in the North. This incident expemplified the hostility between the two. -
Birth of the Republican Party
The first proto-Repulican meeting took place in Ripon, Wisconsin. They had to discuss the issues of the Kansas-Nebraska Act and how they could keep pro-slavery from crossing the border. After a mass turn out of 10,000 people, the party had its first nominating convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on June 17, 1856. -
Dred Scott v. Stanford
A slave, Dred Scott, filed a lawsuit against his owner, Eliza Stanford, for not allowing his freedom even after they moved to the free states. The Supreme Court wouldn't allow this lawsuit because of the Fifth Amendment, stating that slaves were property and could not be taken away from individuals without just compensation. The Court's decision in Dred Scott v. Sandford, stating that blacks could not be U.S. citizens, increased sectional tensions between North and South. -
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John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry
Abolitionist John Brown led a raid against a federal armory in Harpers Ferry, Virginia as an attempt to begin an rmed slave revolt and destroy slavery. However, Brown's attack failed, and he was tried for murder and treason and was found guilty. He believed the only way for savery to come to an end was through violence only. -
Election of 1860
The election of 1860 was between Lincoln, John Bell, John Breckinridge, and Douglas. The biggest concern during this election was the policy of slavery. Southerners wanted the slave codes to be preserved while Northerners hoped to get rid of them. By the end of the election, Lincoln had become the most popular. -
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Shots fired at Fort Sumter, SC
Fort Sumter was a main source of tension between the Confederacy and the Union. The Union didn't want its power under the Confederates. After the Confederates were refused a surrender, they opened gun fire to try to win it over. However, there were no deaths on either side.
