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The Missouri Compromise of 1820
The Missouri Compromise, by Henry Clay, was agreed to by the pro-slavery and anti-slavery groups in Congress and passed as a law in 1820. It prohibited slavery north of the parallel 36°30′ north, except the state of Missouri. -
The Wilmot Proviso
The Wilmot Proviso was designed to get rid of slavery within the land the U.S got as a result of the Mexican War. Congressman David Wilmot first introduced the proviso in the United States House of Representatives on August 8, 1846. It passed the House but failed in the Senate, where the South had greater representation. -
The Fugative Slave Act
The Fugitive Slave Acts were a pair of federal laws that allowed for the capture and return of runaway slaves within the territory of the United States. Enacted by Congress in 1793, the first Fugitive Slave Act authorized local governments to seize and return escaped slaves to their owners and imposed penalties on anyone who helped them escspe. -
The Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 consists of five laws passed in September of 1850 that dealt with the issue of slavery. In 1849 California requested permission to enter the Union as a free state, upsetting the balance between the free and slave states in the U.S. Senate. -
Bleeding Kansas
Bleeding Kansas was a series of violent fights in the United States involving anti-slavery and pro-slavery. This took place in the Kansas Territory and the neighboring towns of the state of Missouri in 1854. -
The Kansas-Nebraska Act
The Kansas-Nebraska Act was passed by the U.S. Congress on May 30, 1854. It allowed people in the territories of Kansas and Nebraska to decide for themselves whether or not to allow slavery within their borders. The Act served to get rid of the Missouri Compromise of 1820 which prohibited slavery north of latitude 36°30´. -
Dred Scott vs Sanford
In Dred Scott v. Sandford, the Supreme Court ruled that Americans from Africa, whether free or slave, were not American citizens and could not sue in federal court. The Court also ruled that Congress didnt have the power to ban slavery in the U.S. territories. -
Lincoln-Douglass Debates
Stephen Douglas battled Abraham Lincoln in face to face debates around the state. They fought for a seat in the Senate. Lincoln challenged Douglas to a war of ideas and Douglass took the challenge. The debates were supposed to be at 7 locations throughout Illinois.
