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The Missouri Compromise was persuaded by Henry Clay for the Congress to adopt. It happened due to the nation needed to balance the senate. It allowed Maine to enter the union as a slave state and MIssouri as a free state. To add to it, it allowed the Louisiana territory north of the southern border of MIssouri will be free of slavery. This impacted the Union because it settled a debate. -
Representative David Wilmot proposed for Congress to eradicate slavery in all territory that may become an addition to the United States as a result of the Mexican-American war. This proposal failed in the senate. It was proposed in Pennsylvania. -
The compromise of 1850 were 5 laws intended to end the crisis of the nation by giving both supporters and opponents of slavery part of what they wanted. In order to make the North happy, they made California a free state, as well as banning slave trade in the nation's capital. To make the south happy, they used popular sovereignty to decide slavery in the rest of the Mexican Cession, the new states in the Union. It meant the nation to be less divided, but ended up making it even more divided. -
Another part of the Compromise was the very controversial Fugitive Slave Act. It allowed government officials to arrest anyone accused of being a runaway slave. Northerners were very angry about this. Many African Americans were forced to return to their slave owners after becoming free. In multiple cities, people came together to revolt against the Fugitive Slave Act. This act convinced Northerners even more that slavery was not right. -
Harriet Beecher Stowe, the daughter of an abolitionist who wrote in her words, "something that will make this whole nation feel what an accursed thing slavery is." She published a book called "Uncle Tom's Cabin" in 1852. The book is about a slave named Tom who dies due to being beaten to death. Stowe's book was a hit in the north and many copies were sold. Many people were shocked with the cruelty of slavery. Many white southerner's did not like Stowe's book and they called it propaganda. -
The Kansas-Nebraska act moved the nation ever so closer to war. Douglas suggested to build two new territories, the Kansas territory and the Nebraska territory. Southerners objected instantly. Kansas earned the name "Bleeding Kansas" after they had two governments at a time. Many fights broke out and the state was divided. -
Dred Scott was an enslaved person. He argued that he was free because he lived where it was illegal for a large amount of time. Scott then sued for his freedom. Chief Justice, Robert B. Taney wrote the decision for court. He argued that Scott wasn't free, and African Americans were not citizens. Taney said that slaves were property. Taney declined Scott's proposal, and declared as well that the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional. Southerners rejoiced, and Northerners were outraged. -
Abraham Lincoln was against the Kansas-Nebraska Act. His rival, Stephen Douglas, was for the Kansas-Nebraska Act. In Illinois, Lincoln ran for Illinois State Governor against Stephen Douglas. Lincoln never stated he wanted to ban slavery, but never said he was for it either. Lincoln challenged Douglas to many debates. In these debates, Douglas called Lincoln an abolitionist, which was not true. These arguments happened for many years. -
John Brown was an abolitionist who led a slave revolt on a town in Harpers Ferry, Virginia. He raised an army and had the intentions of seizing the guns the U.S. army had stored there, and wanted to free slaves He was captured and wounded and charged with murder and treason. He was then sentenced to death. Northerners mourned the man and the southerners were shocked. They could not believe they were praising a man who led a slave revolt. -
The Republicans chose Abraham Lincoln as their presidential candidate. Because Northerners denied Southerners slavery support, the parties had split into two different parties. Northerners choose Stephen Douglas while Southerners choose John Breckinridge. Some southerners wanted to seal the split between the northerners and the south, and they formed the constitutional union and elected John Bell of Tennessee. He promised to ensure the integrity of slavery and keep the nation from being divided. -
During the Southern Secession, many states seceded from the union. They formed a new union called, "Confederate States of America". This new union seized control on a fort Lincoln had. They refused Lincoln's requests and brought the nation to the brink of war. The Civil War was about to start. This war would decide slavery in the United States.
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