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The Missouri Compromise (1820)
Missouri entered as a slave state and Maine entered as a free state. Also the 36'30" line was drawn. This was a line that determined whether a state would enter as a free or slave state. This compromise was effective for about thirty years, but then around 1850 it became less and less effective. -
Compromise of 1850
This compromise had five parts to it. One being California entered as a free state. Also, the area from Mexican Cession would be divided into Utah and New Mexico, and slavery would be decided by popular sovereignty. Also, slave trade ended in Washington D.C. Also, there was a strict Fugitive Slave Law. This said that northerners had to return runaway slaves. It also settled border troubles between New Mexico and Texas. Like the last compromise this only solved problems for a short time. -
Fugitive Slave Law
The Fugitive Slave Law was put into place during the compromise of 1850. It essentially required citizens to catch and return runaway slaves. If a person didn't comply with the law they could be fined up to $1000 or put into jail for six months. The northerners did not like this law the most. This is because it forced them to actually be apart of slavery, which they already thought was morally wrong. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
This was a book written by Harriet Beecher Stowe. The book was about an enslaved man named Tom who saves the life of a girl named Eva. Her father then buys Tom to work on his farm and Tom and Eva become good friends. This story shows the horrors of slavery and how evil it actually is. This changed a lot of northerns points of view on slavery. The book was also banned in the south because they claimed it was full of lies. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
This divided land into the Kansas and Nebraska Territories. Slavery was also determined by populars sovereignty. This leads to bloodshed in the Senate. Many pro-slavery and anti-slavery people were in one area and this led to problems. Northerners also believed that this went against the Missouri compromise. -
Pottawatomie Creek Killings
John Brown and four of his sons ride into a town called Pottawatomie Creek in the middle of the night. They then pulled five pro-slavery men out of their beds and murdered them. John Brown believes he was doing what God told him to do. Many Northerners were against slavery, like Brown, but were shocked at what he did. -
Dred Scott Decision
Dred Scott was a slave who lived in a free state with his owner. His owner than moved back to a slave state where he later died. Scott then had abolitionists attorneys file a law suit for him. The case went to the Supreme Court but Scott lost. The Court ruled that since Scott was a black enslaved man, that he had no rights, and therefore could not file a lawsuit. Southerners loved the ruling, while Northerners hated it. This is because it meant that slavery could be spread into free states. -
Lincoln-Douglas Debate
Lincoln was opposed to popular sovereignty. He also opposed the Kansas-Nebraska Act and Douglas' views. Douglas supported popular sovereignty and states' rights. He won the election to be senator, but Lincoln later gained a national following and eventually became president. -
Raid on Harper's Ferry
John Brown led five blacks and thirteen whites into Harper's Ferry. Brown's plan was to start a slave revolt and raid an arsenal. No slaves helped Brown which resulted in a number of his men dying and Brown was arrested by Robert E. Lee. Brown was then found guilty of murder and treason, and was hung and died. -
Election of 1860
Lincoln (a republican) ran against Douglas (a Northern Democrat) in the election. The Southerners did not like Lincoln and he was not on many of the southern ballots. Despite Lincoln not wining a single southern state he still won the election. This made the Southerns very mad because they believed they didn't have proper representation and the north had too much power. Many southern states then talked about seceding the Union.