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Mum Bett Case
Mum Bett ran away from her slave owner and found a lawyer. She then sued her slave owner for her own freedom claiming slavery was unconstitutional, and she won. The North supported what Mum Bett said about how slavery was unconstitutional. The south thought it was constitutional though and should continue. This caused arguments between the regions which led to the Civil War. -
3/5 Compromise
When states started counting enslaved people as ⅗ of a person when counting the population. The south had a big population of enslaved people and wanted them to count for a full person so they could have more government members representing the south. The North wanted slaves to not count as a person, because they didn’t want the south to gain more power. This compromise caused peace for some time but tensions were still rising due to the North and South wanting different things. -
Northwest Ordinance
A law that outlined how the government would act in the Northwest territory. The law was passed by the Confederation Congress and the law also stated that the Northwest Territories would eventually join the union as a state. This contributed to the civil war starting because when new states formed the North wanted it to be a free state, while the South wanted new states to be a slave state. This difference in opinions created tension which led to the Civil War starting. -
Creation of the Cotton Gin
Eli Whitney created a machine that cleaned derbies out of cotton. This made cotton production speed up and become cheaper. The cotton gin increased slavery in the south due to cotton production increasing, which the South encouraged. The North on the other hand did benefit from the cotton gin in certain ways they though it was not good due to its effect on slavery. The North and South having different views on slavery increased tensions and led to the beginning of the Civil War. -
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Second Great Awakening
A period of renewed social importance of religion. People had started to convert to different parts of Protestant Christianity, and religious awakenings became popular. The second great awakening spread the idea of equality which made more people start to support abolition which the North encouraged. The South was upset about this and didn’t due to it making there be less support for slavery. The North and the south arguing about the second great awakening led to the Civil War. -
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American Industrial Revolution
A time in history when industrial manufacturing and mass production started to become popular. This increased production and produced many cotton products. The industrialization increased slavery due to the need for production of manufactured things such as cotton or tobacco. The south helped slavery increase due to the amount of slave trade that started to occur, the north wanted slavery to stop. The US’s various opinions on slavery's place in manufacturing led to arguments and the Civil War. -
Louisiana Purchase
This was when Thomas Jefferson was president and purchased the territory of Louisiana for $15 million from France. The US wanted control of the Mississippi River and the port of New Orleans. New land increased the south's want for slavery as new farm lands became available. The North was against this and how it would increase slavery. Due to these disagreements people started to argue about slavery and tensions started to rise. -
Missouri Compromise
Missouri applied for statehood and in order for them to become a state a line was put in on their border. It did not allow the north of 36 degrees 30’ and slavery was allowed south of 36 degrees 30’. The North wanted the whole country to be free while the South wanted the whole country to have slavery. This compromise worked to make some peace but the north and south were still not happy about the US having and not having slavery. This caused tension that led to the Civil War. -
Nat Turner’s Rebellion
Nat Turner convinced people to follow him and help him attack white plantation owners. He and his people killed about 60 white plantation owners and their families. The people in the south felt threatened by this rebellion and thought that the laws against slaves should. The North felt that this should help people realize how big of an issue slavery is. The North and the south viewing this rebellion as signs to do different things led to the Civil war. -
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Mexican American War
When Texas became a part of the US Mexico got mad claiming the land was still theirs. American sided with Texas and a war began. The south wanted Texas to be a state even though it was causing a war because they wanted more land for slaves to farm on and more southern land. The North thought that Texas becoming a state was just causing issues and slavery wasn’t worth it. When the country accepted Texas and a war started the north got mad at the sound and tensions increased. -
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California Gold Rush
This was when about 300,000 people migrated to California looking for gold. Many people from all over the US and parts of the world migrated to California. The gold rush caused more people to migrate to California which eventually caused it to become a state. California chose to become a free state though and the south did not support or like that more states were becoming free. This increased arguments between the north and south which contributed to the start of the Civil War. -
Compromise of 1850
It was a time when new areas started to become states and the government made a compromise so that when these new states formed certain decisions got passed. Some of these decisions increased and others decreased slavery, which made the north and the south have peace. The North wanted only the decisions that decreased slavery to pass while the south felt the same way but about increasing slavery. Even though the compromise calmed things down these differences in opinions caused tension. -
Fredrick Douglass gives July 4th speech
Fredrick Douglass made this speech to show that the 4th is supposed to celebrate freedom but black people weren’t free. He addressed how it was not right for the US citizens and government to claim the US was a free country when a big part of the US was enslaved. The people in the North supported what Douglass said, the Southerners disagreed and thought that enslaved people weren’t citizens and don't deserve freedom. The North and South disagreeing made tensions rise in the US. -
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“Bleeding Kansas”
When both pro slavery people and abolitionists went into Kansas during the election and voted in the polls. Many of these people attacked and killed people due to different views on slavery. Pro slavery people and abolitionists felt so strongly about what they believed in that they killed people to fight for it. These fights about slavery had turned so violent and bad that tensions were very high between the north and south. This super high tension contributed to the start of the Civil War. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
This allowed all remaining territories to determine the issue of slavery based upon popular sovereignty. The South wanted the states to choose being a slave state while the north wanted the states to choose to become a free state. The North and South even tried very hard to fight for states to be once free or not which increased arguments between the regions. In the end this helped lead to the Civil War. -
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Dred Scott v Sanford
Dred Scott was an enslaved man who tried to sue for his freedom after his owner had brought him into a free state. He claimed that he was free due to this, but the supreme court ruled that enslaved people were not real citizens and could not sue in court. The North said that enslaved people should have rights. Others on the supreme and from the south claimed that Scott wasn't a true citizen. This claim made the north angry and which caused tempers to rise which led to the Civil War. -
Attack on Charles Sumner
Charles Sumner was a Senator who supported abolition and was making a speech about abolition. Another senator who was pro slavery, Andrew Butler, walked into the senate chamber and beat Sumner almost to death with a cane. This attack made the North feel threatened due to how violent someone from the south was acting towards someone who was an abolitionist. This attack sent a message to the North that made them even more upset with the South which let to the Civil War. -
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Raid on Harpers Ferry
A raid led by John Brown, he was trying to give slaves weapons so they could fight and slavery could end. His attempt failed when he was trying to get into the U.S. Armory and Arsenal in Harpers Ferry many people died. The north and the south both felt that Brown's violence was bad, the north felt that his ideas were right and slavery should be abolished. The south thought that this was a sign of why slavery should continue. The north and the south not agreeing helped start the Civil War. -
Election of 1860
It was the election for president during 1860, Stephen Douglass, John Breckinridge, John Bell, and Abraham Lincoln ran in this election. Abraham Lincoln won the election. The North wanted to vote for the republican candidate, Abraham Lincoln, due to him fighting for the end of slavery. The South didn’t want Lincoln to win because of this. When he won this election the south was mad while the north was excited. The different views the north and south had on this election caused fights in America. -
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Southern Secession
When certain states in the south began to separate from the union. 11 southern states had started to separate from the US after the election of 1860 due to concerns about slavery and rights. The southern states doing this and trying to seperate from the union was an action the North did not want the US to split up. This difference in the direction that the US should go caused tension. -
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Shots Fired at Ft. Sumter
This was the official start of the fighting in the American Civil War. Union troops (Northern troops) stationed at Fort. Sumter in South Carolina were attacked by the South Carolina militia. Union lost and surrendered the fort to the Confederate militia. Unlike previous acts of violence, this was the first time violence broke out between organized military units. Fighting in the Civil War would continue for 4 more years after this event.