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Missouri Compromise
Debates were rising between the North and South over the growth of slavery. Henry Clay settles the debate and creates the Missouri Compromise. It's a series of laws that helped maintain the balance between slave and free states. -
The Nullification Crisis
Southern states saw tariffs as unfair and only good for the North, so Vice President John C. Calhoun allowed states to nullify a federal law considered unconstitutional. When the state of South Carolina used that power, the federal government denied their argument, so South Carolina threatened to secede. Henry Clay came in with a compromise and lowered the Traiffs. -
Compromise of 1850
Congress had many debates on the new incoming states won from the war with Mexico, whether or not they will be slave states. Henry Clay compromised by admitting California as a free state, and congress would not pass laws banning slavery from the rest of the territories. -
Fugitive Slave Act
This act permitted the capture of any African-American who fled to the north to escape slavery. These laws raised tension and set the stage for John Brown's Raid and the American Civil War. -
Bleeding Kansas
5000+ people came from proslavery Missouri to vote for proslavery illegally in Kansas. Then antislavery opponents made a new government in the state of Kansas, so proslavery forces attacked them. Then John Brown murdered several of his proslavery neighbors. -
The Dred Scott Decision
Dred Scott sued for his freedom, because he was not free based on his residence, he was not considered a citizen as said in the Constitution. he was also "property of his owner, and property can't be taken away from a person without due process of law. -
Attack on Harpers Ferry
John Brown wanted to inspire slaves to fight back for their freedom, to capture the arsenal, and grab arms. Brown and his men were soon captured, but still antislavery saluted John Brown for his courage while being put to death. The issue of slavery had raised tensions in America to the breaking point of violence. -
The Election of 1860
Lincoln wins the election of 1860 and as a result, many Southern States began to secede from the Union after Lincoln won.
