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Missouri Compromise
The north and south were fighting over Missouri being admitted as a slave state. With Missouri, the slave states would over power free states. Henry Clay, the great compromiser, said that Maine should be admitted as free, and from then on, anything below the 36, 30 line, would be slave and anything above it would be free. -
The Nullification Crisis
Southern states like South Carolina thought that tariffs imposed by president Jackson were unfair. Vice President John C Calhoun said that any state can nullify a federal law, if its unconstitutional. The national government denied that argument from South Carolina, and South Carolina said they were going to secede. Henry clay, the great compromise, came up with a solution, which lowered the tariff and made both the north and south happy. -
Compromise of 1850
Congress was having a lot of debates about if the territories that were won in the Mexican war should be slave, or free. Henry clay, came up with the idea that California could be free, the slave trade would be abolished in the capital and that congress would not pass laws banning slavery from the other territories. -
Fugitive Slave Act of 1850
Congress passed the fugitive slave act, which stated that any African Americans that escaped slavery, could be caught by slave hunters, and returned to the south. Helping to hide any escaped slaves was illegal. Tension grew after these laws were set. -
Bleeding Kansas 1855
5000 people from Missouri (a slave state) 'moved' to Kansas illegally, and voted for slavery. because of this, Kansas became a slave state, which angered Anti-Slavery supporters, who then made their own antislavery government. pro slavery forces attacked the antislavery government, which became the fuel behind john brown's attacks. -
Dred Scott Decision
Dred Scott was a slave who sued his owner for his freedom. supposedly, because he had lived in a free territory, he deserved to be a freed slave. The court rejected his argument, saying that he was property and would be returned to his owner, regardless of where he was. Seeing as property could not be taken from its owner without process of due law -
Attack on Harpers Ferry
John Brown wanted to start a rebellion among-st slaves, so he went to Virginia, and attacked an arsenal of weapons to arm the slaves. The slaves did not rebel like John thought they would, and he was captured along with his men, and then killed. Abolitionists saluted John as he was put to death, and America was now at its breaking point. -
The Election of 1860
Abraham Lincoln won this election, even though nobody in the south voted for him. In fact, he wasn't even included on most southern ballots. After Abe won, southern states started to secede.
