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A bill was passed allowing Missouri to be a slave state. However, the rest of the states in the Louisiana Purchase were to be free states. This marked the beginning of the Civil War as some were angry slavery was not to be extended to the west of America.
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Nat Turner led the only successful slave rebellion in the south. This rebellion only made slave laws in the south stricter. It also put an end to slave owners mentality of slaves not having the willpower to rebel.
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This proviso prohibited slavery in the territories gained by the Mexican American War. This further divided the country and aided in the establishment of the Republican Party.
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A war between Mexico and America over a lack of communication of who's border ended where. In the end, America gained California and New Mexico. But this further divided the country over the argument of whether or not they should be slave states.
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In 1849, California requested to be apart of the Union which made members of the Confederacy angry. The compromise allowed California to come in as a free state, with Utah and New Mexico having slave codes.
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Passed in 1850, this act made it nearly impossible for slaves to have their freedom. For it said that if a slave escapes too a free state their owners can travel to said free state and take them back to be a slave once again.
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A novel by abolitionist Harriet Beecher Stowe. In her novel it tells the story of a slave named Tom in extreme detail. This novel did not sugar coat the experience of slaves. This book was very popular in Britain and weakened their sympathy for the south.
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This act organized the territories of Kansas and Nebraska. Letting popular sovereignty decide whether they would be free or slave states. This only led to political chaos and the establishment of the Republican Party.
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After Kansas and Nebraska had been put under popular sovereignty southerners were angered. A mini civil war broke out and blood was shed over whether or not the new territories would be free or slave states.
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In the case of Scott vs. Sandford, Dred Scott was suing for his freedom for he had been taken to a free state and still held as a slave. The verdict of this case was that since Scott was a slave he could never be a citizen and therefore his freedom was not granted. This decision further divided the country as the two opinions of the verdict were polar opposites.
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John Brown a popular abolitionist led a raid on the armory in Harpers Ferry. He intended to arm slaves and lead a slave rebellion but was unsuccessful and hanged. However, this raid scared the southerners and they began to believe that abolitionists would stop at nothing to end slavery.
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Abraham Lincoln of the Republican Party was elected as our sixteenth president in 1860. An outspoken anti-slavery person, the south was angered that he had won. So much so that eleven states seceded. Linclon's election confirmed the Republican and Democrat party as the two main political parties in America.
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The eleven seceded states meet in Montgomery, Alabama. Where they elect Jefferson Davis to be President of the Confederate States of America. Thus finalizing the division of America.
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The Confederates attack Fort Sumter, which is right outside Charleston, South Carolina. This marks the very first battle of the American Civil War.
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A union victory that resulted in many bloodshed. The union casualty number was 12,401. This cause Lincoln to shift his focus on the war from preserving the Union to freeing slaves.
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A battle that lasted for three days, resulting in massive casualties on both sides. Ultimately ending in General Lee withdrawing from the battle.
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General Grant has set fire to Vicksburg, Mississippi. Forcing the confederates to surrender on July 4. This resulted in the Union coming into control of the Mississippi River and splitting the confederacy in two.
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Marking the end of the Civil War General Lee is surrounded by General Grant and his forces. Lee agrees to meet at the Appomattox Courthouse in Virginia and surrenders.
