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The Missouri Compromise
The debate was over new states entering the Union as either free or slave states. In order to keep the balance, Missouri entered as a slave state while Maine entered as a free state. The 36' 30" line was drawn and decided if a state would be slave or not. -
Compromise of 1850
This compromise had five parts. 1. California entered the Union as a free state. 2. The area from the Mexican Cession was divided into Utah and New Mexico with slavery being decided by popular sovereignty. 3. Slave trade in Washington D.C. ended. 4. Created the Fugitive Slave Law. 5. Settled the boarders between New Mexico and Texas. -
Fugitive Slave Law
Part of the Compromise of 1850, the Fugitive Slave Law required citizens to catch runaway slaves.If a citizen did not comply, they could face a fine up to $1,000 or be put in jail for six months. Judges were payed $10 if they returned a slave while being payed $5 if they freed a slave. This resulted in freed slaves being captured and sent back into slavery. The North hated this because they became part of the system of slavery. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Written by Harriett Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom's Cabin highlighted the evils of slavery through a story about an older slave that is whipped to death by his owner. Southerners claimed the book was lies while Northerners changed their views on slavery. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
This act divided the land into Kansas and Nebraska and decided that slavery would be decided by popular sovereignty. This resulted in violence in the Senate. This also led to pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers living in the same area. In the Northerners' eyes, this act repealed the Missouri Compromise. -
Pottowatomi Creek Killings
Angered by the violence in Kansas, John Brown and his four sons decide to take the law into their own hands. In the middle of the night, they pull five pro-slavery men in a small town out of their beds and kill them. John Brown claims he did it in the name of God as he was the one telling him to do it. Their actions were appalling to both Southerners and Northerners alike. -
Dred Scott Decision
Dred Scott was a slave who lived with his owner in a free state. They moved into a slave state where his owner would die and he had filed a lawsuit. This case went to the Supreme Court where they ruled Dred Scott was property and not a person so he could not file a lawsuit. They also ruled that Congress could not ban slavery in any territories. This repealed the Missouri Compromise which angered Northerners while pleasing Southerners. -
Lincoln-Douglass Debate
The main focus of this debate was over the issue of popular sovereignty. Douglass believed in popular sovereignty while Lincoln was against the idea believing it would allow slavery to spread in the territories. Lincoln also believed that the nation would fall apart if the fight for slavery did not come to an end soon. -
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Raid on Harper's Ferry
John Brown would lead a group into Harper's Ferry with the intent of raiding an arsenal and starting a slave revolt. However, no slaves were willing to revolt. Several of Brown's men would be killed and Brown was arrested by Robert E. Lee. Brown would be tried and was found guilty of murder and treason, resulting in the death penalty by hanging. -
Election of 1860
Republican candidate Abraham Lincoln ran against Democratic candidate Stephen Douglass. The South despised Lincoln and his beliefs. Despite the South's overwhelming support for Douglas, Lincoln would still be elected. This caused Southerners to grow very angry as they believed their voices did not matter when compared to the North. Talks of seceding from the Union would follow.