-
Eli Whitney - Cotton Gin
In 1794, Eli Whitney's invention of the cotton gin helped lead to the Civil War by making it possible to produce more cotton. Producing more cotton meant you needed more workers to fulfill needs, slaves would end up filling that hole working in plantations. The more slaves, the more the North became furious and had the drive to abolish slavery. This led to the Civil War. -
Missouri Compromise
In 1820 the Missouri Compromise was passed as a way to divide our country between the slave states and the free states. The division would be at the 36 30 line, above this line will be free states, below will be slave states. This compromise contributed to the division and disagreement between North and South regarding the issue of slavery and made the issue more contentious between the two sides of the country. This opened the United States to the Civil War, dividing our country. -
Nat Turner Slave Rebellion
Nat Turner was an enslaved African American who led a rebellion in Virginia on August 21, 1831. His rebellion consisted of free blacks and slaves. This rebellion would go from plantation to plantation gathering guns and horses, freeing other slaves along the way. Nat Turners rebellion resulted in in the death of 55-65 whites and 200 blacks. Turner's slave rebellion and his death aroused antislavery radicals in the North to aid and protect the nation's free black population. -
The Compromise of 1850
After the Mexican American war the United States gained new territory on their way to westward expansion. The south argued that new territories should be slave states, where as the north believed they should be free states. The Compromise of 1850 determined that any new states would become slave-free. As a result, tensions continued to escalate after the Compromise of 1850 failed to settle the slavery matter, and the Civil War became increasingly inevitable in the following decade. -
Fugitive Slave Act
On September 18, 1850 the Figitve Slave Act was passed which forcefully required to return all escaped slaves to their masters. All American people had to obey this law including the North. The North being mostly free did not agree with this law and in many cases tried to circumvent them. As the law was not popular in the North it helped many Northerners who were indifferent convert to anti-slavery and help slaves escape to Canada. North refusing to abide to the law helped lead to the Civil War. -
Kansas Nebraska Act
May 30, 1854, the Kansas Nebraska Act was passed as a way to allow Kansas and Nebraska to choose for themselves whether or not they wanted to be free or slave under popular sovereignty. Kansas with slavery would repeal the Missouri Compromise of 1820, having slavery over the 36 30 line, which had kept the Union from falling apart for the last 34 years. -
"Bleeding Kansas"
During 1855 to 1861, a very crucial event that led up to the Civil War occurred. This event is "Bleeding Kansas". "Bleeding Kansas" was when pro-slavery and anti-slavery supporters moved to Kansas debateing if the Kansas territory should be a free state or slave state. This involved mass violence which could not be contained by armed forces. This was the first time that anti-slavery supporters and proslavery supporters took extreme actions to express how they felt toward each other. -
Scott vs Sandford
During 1856-1857 Scott was a slave who tried to sue his master after Scott was brought in to a free state. The case was brought to the Supreme Court who ruled against Scott. The court stated that blacks had "no rights which the white man was bound to respect ". This case caused the inflamed public opinion in the North, leading to a hardening of antislavery attitudes and a surge in popularity for the new antislavery Republican Party. The increasing anger of the North led to the Civil War. -
Potawatomi Massacre
In 1856, led my John Brown he and several other men killed five pro-slavery settlers in a retaliatory attack at Potawatomi Creek. The Potawatomi massacre and the sack of Lawrence set off war in Kansas leaving 200 gunned down and dead. This led to the Civil War. -
Abraham Lincoln Election
November 8, 1860 Abraham Lincoln was elected President of the United States of America. Lincoln opposed western expansion of slavery onto new terriotires advocating "free soil". This case posed as a threat to the economy and political interest of the south. 7 states had succeeded from the Union to form the Confederacy. Lincoln was determined to prevent disunion by any means necessary, but his attempts at negotiation failed miserably. The Civil War had begun.
