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Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise had many important highlighted features of its time. The balance in the senate was to have a delicate balance between free and slave states. New pieces of land were allowed for slavery but specific new land was also for non-slavery. Louisiana territory for now was a safe place for slaves and continued to be for 34 years. Missouri was an exception and was one of the places where slavery was allowed. -
Nullification Crisis
During the year 1832, the Nullification Crisis began. This was when South Carolina adopted the ordinance of nullification, declaring the tariffs null, void, and nonbinding in the state. This caused the British goods that were imported from the south to be raised in price. Certain raw materials were now up by 30-50% which protected the Mid-Atlantic and western states that produced them. A negative effect of this was now southern states with their cotton and tobacco industries were unprotected. -
Mexican American War
The Mexican-American War lasted from 1846-1848 and was declared by the US. This war started with the Mexican's unwillingness to recognize Texa's independence, the desire of Texans for statehood, and the American desire for westward expansion. A different cause was the disputed boundary between the United States and Texas on the Nueces strip. The Mexicans did not know that Texas was legitimate American territory. There was a treaty in this war but the documentation halved the size of Mexico. -
Wilmot Proviso
At this time the Wilmot Proviso was to prohibit slavery expansion. With the two million dollars used to settle the boundary with Mexico, Wilmot David offered an amendment forbidding slavery in this new territory. The attempts to stop how slavery was, paved the way for Confederacy. Wilmot didn't want slavery to end, he just wanted it not to spread to new territories as America expanded. His goal was to preserve economic opportunities for white citizens. -
Compromise of 1850
The compromise of 1850 allowed California to join the Union as a free state. During the Mexican Cession, the rest of it was divided into the territories of New Mexico and Utah. This compromise also ended the slave trade in the nation's capital, Washington. The compromise did end the slave trade but made it easier for slaveowners to recover runaways under the Fugitive Slave Act. An event that also helped bring around the compromise was the death of president Zachary Taylor and John C. Calhoun. -
Uncle Toms Cabin
Uncle Toms Cabin was about slavery and the treatment of humans as property. A common theme heard with this is the evil of slavery and the good of Christian love which is about overcoming evil. Harriet Beecher was an advocate for this and shared ideas about the injustice of slavery. The novel is a large body of anti-slavery writing and was seen as less threatening to white readers than to black abolitionists. A villain in this story which is Legree kills tom for keeping slaves locations secret. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
This act repealed the Missouri Compromise, created two new territories, and allowed for popular sovereignty. A violent uprising known as "Bleeding Kansas" was produced when proslavery and antislavery rushed into the new territories to sway votes on if the land will be slave legal or illegal. This act would later explode into a civil war as debates over slavery were discussed. It was like opening fresh wounds when the thought of previously free slave states could be turned back into slave states. -
Scott vs Sandford
Scott vs Sandford was a debate that started in 1856 and was decided in 1857. The Supreme Court ruled that Americans of African descent, whether free or slave were not American citizens and could not sue in federal court. The court also ruled that there was a lack of power in certain US territories which wouldn't allow them to ban slavery. Dred Scott was a victim of these rulings when he tried to sue for his freedom. He claimed that his time spent as a slave in the US would free him of his bonds. -
John Brown Raid
John brown was a man who invaded Harper's Ferry in Virginia with a small army of just 18 men. His goal was to instigate a major slave rebellion in the south. John's raid would have come to an end when his mission failed because the armory that he attacked was surrounded by a regiment. His efforts weren't futile, he had killed one slave owner and freed eleven slaves during his leadership. Abolitionist John Brown's revolt to destroy slavery was heard and seen as his many followers white and black. -
Election of 1860
A pivotal presidential election was the one of 1860. The main issue of the election was slavery and state rights. Lincoln won that election and with his win, he became the 16th president while in a time of crisis which would test how good of a leader he was. The well-known Civil war was a year inbound and Lincoln built the Republican Party into a strong national organization.