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Wilmot Proviso
The proviso was proposed in 1846 by David Wilmot and its idea was to exclude slavery from the new territories in the west, which would've disrupt the Compromise of 1820. The proviso was passed in House, but was defeated in the Senate which only intensified sectionalism. -
Free Soil Movement
The Free Soil party was organized by Northern Democrats and Whigs whom supported the Wilmot Proviso and the exclusion of all African Americans, whether free or not, from territories in the West as they would be competition for white workers. The party's slogan was "Free Soil, Free Labor, and Free Men", but due to its controversy it was short lived. -
Compromise of 1850
The compromise was proposed by Henry Clay as laws needed to be brought to the west as there were many settlers in California due to the Gold Rush of 1849. His proposal consisted of admitting California as a free state, dividing the rest of the Mexican Cession into two parts and letting the settlers decide on slavery, banning slave trade in the District of Columbia, giving the land in dispute between Texas and the New Mexico territory to new territories, and adopting a new Fugitive Slave Law. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin Published
The novel, written by Harriet Beecher Stowe, was published in 1852 and was about the conflict between Tom, a slave, and his owner Simon Legree. The novel moved many Northerners and Europeans to view slave owners as inhumane and so also supported the South belief that Northerners had an "incurable" prejudice against the South. -
Kansas Nebraska Act
Stephen Douglas, a senator, wanted to build a railroad to increase the value of his estates in Chicago and settlement of the West. To win the South's favor, he introduced the bill to divide the Nebraska territory into two and allow both territories to use popular sovereignty to decide if slavery would be allowed or not. The bill gave the South an opportunity to expand slavery beyond where the Missouri Compromise had previously stopped them. -
Republican Party formed
The party was created as a reaction to the passing of the Kansas-Nebraska Act and was made up of Free-Soilers and anti-slavery Whigs and Democrats. They opposed the expansion of slavery into the west, but not the idea of slavery itself, however, this still made the South agitated as they felt estranged. -
Caning of Charles Sumner
In 1856, Senator Charles Sumner, an anti-slavery advocate, aggressively addressed the issue of "Bleeding Kansas" to the Senate. He blamed the event on Stephen Douglas and Andrew Butler and belittled both men publicly. Preston Brooks, Butler's nephew, was enraged and, to defend his uncle who was absent at the time, went into Sumner's room after the speech and used a cane, which was used to beat dogs, to strike Sumner's head. -
Bleeding Kansas incidents
Many anti-slavery farmers came to settle the new Kansas territory, however, slaveholders from Missouri also came to Kansas in an attempt to have slavery allowed. Fighting between the opposing sides erupted especially in response to the attack on Lawrence, a free soil town, which resulted in two deaths by pro-slavery groups. John Brown, an abolitionist, then attacked the town at Pottawatomie Creek, a pro-slavery settlement, with his sons and killed five people. -
Dred Scott vs Sandford decision
Dred Scott was a slave who unsuccessfully sued for the freedom of his wife and children as his family was taken to live in Wisconsin, a free state, for four years before going back to Missouri, a slave state. The case took 11 years to get up to the Supreme Court where it ruled against Scott because he was African American, and, thus, wasn't viewed as a US citizen. The Court also claimed that the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional, which, in a sense, meant that the west was open to slavery. -
Lincoln-Douglas Debates
Stephen Douglas and Abraham Lincoln had a series of debates for the spot of senator from Illinois in 1858. Lincoln was relatively unknown to the public, but declared that "A house divided against itself cannot stand" as he recognized the moral issue of slavery and that the problem could not be solved unless slavery was abolished or allowed everywhere. Although Douglas won in the end, with it he lost his party as he didn't fully support the Dred Scott decision when challenged by Lincoln. -
John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry
John Brown, his sons, and former slaves laid siege on Harpers Ferry, a military arsenal, on October 1859 with the hopes that the Virginian slaves would also rebel with them. Two days later, U.S. marines led by Robert E. Lee captured Brown and his group who were tried for treason and later hung in December. Although the raid failed, it sparked further sectional tensions and made future compromises between the North and South impossible. -
Election of Lincoln
The Democratic party was split in two due to sectional tensions leaving the Republican party to have an easy win by putting their efforts into appeasing the North and West. The party nominated Lincoln who stayed in Illinois and gave statements to the media while others campaigned. Lincoln won all of the free states and, even though he had 40% of the popular vote, he won 59% of the electoral college's votes, as the North carried more electors, allowing him to win the presidency.
