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Compromise of 1850
Congressional agreements imteded to settle the disputes of slavery between slave states and free states. -
Fugitive Slave Law
Any and every slave, whether born free or escaped into a free state, had to be returned to their owners or sold back into slavery -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
A book written by Harriet Beecher Stowe that describes the horrors of slavery. This book made the abolition of slavery a priority. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
This allowed white male settlers in those territories to determine through popular sovereignty whether they would allow slavery within each territory. -
Bleeding Kansas
Violence broke out between those who wanted slavery and those who didn't. This was a mini civil war in Kansas. -
Dred Scott Case
Dred Scott was a slave who sued the federal court for his freedom because he lived in a free state. After appealing to the supreme court,Scott lost. The supreme court ruled that Scott was not a citizen so he could not be free and the Missouri compromise was unconstitutional. -
Lincoln-Douglas Debates
A series of debates for the Illinois Senate seat between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas. Lincoln believed the nation could not exist as half free and half slave. Douglas supported popular sovereignty as a method of determining slavery. -
Harpers Ferry
Abolitionist John Brown led a raid on a federal arsenal in Virginia with attempts to arm slaves and rebel. The raid failed and Brown was executed for treason. -
Election of 1860
The Republicans ran Abraham Lincoln for the man in office, the democrats broke into two parties known as Breckenridge and Douglas, and the constitution party ran John Bell. Abraham Lincoln won the election by a landslide and southerners feared he would end slavery. -
Fort Sumter
General P.G.T. Beauregard, in command of the Confederate forces around Charleston Harbor, opened fire on the Union garrison holding Fort Sumter. This became known as the very first official battle of the Civil War.
