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The Mexican Cession saw many changes to the U.S. It added over 525,000 square miles of land to the U.S. from territories like California, Arizona, and New Mexico. However, it also saw a plan called the Wilmot Proviso. This plan was not popular amongst people in the south because of the purpose of the plan. This plan saw to prohibit the institution of slavery in the newly acquired lands from Mexico. As a result of this, the south became more adamant about expanding slavery into new regions. -
The Fugitive Slave Act added a lot of pressure to the Civil War. Free slaves that fled from plantations in the South to the North could be tracked down by the southern owners and bring them back to the plantation. However, many free slaves in the North ended up being taken to the south despite not previously being enslaved. This is because Judges got paid more to say that the free man is in fact a slave. This promoted sectionalism because it is favoring the southern agenda in unfair ways. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin, written by Harriet Beecher Stowe, was a cultural hit amongst the Americans. This book brought to life the daily hardships slaves had to endure. The people in the North began to open their eyes about the institution of slavery. On the contrary, Southerners despised this book because it was deemed malicious. Uncle Tom's Cabin became the second best selling book following the Bible. This added to the Civil War because it brought life to the issue surrounding slavery. -
Bleeding Kansas came as a result of the Kansas-Nebraska act following the institution of popular sovereignty. Popular sovereignty means that the population will decide on the institution of slavery. As a result of this slave supporters from the south and anti-slavers from the north began to pour into Kansas with the intention of either stopping the spread of slavery or expanding it. During this time, abolitionist John Browne came to Kansas to riot. In these riots John killed five pro-slavers. -
Dred Scott was a slave from Virginia who tried to sue for his freedom. During this, his case ended up at the feet of the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court ruled that since Scott was a slave and was declared property, he had no legal rights to sue for his freedom. The result of this case threatened to entirely reshape the political landscape that had managed to prevent civil war. The idea that slaves are now claimed to be just property allows southerners to more loosely regulate slavery. -
The raid on Harpers Ferry, led by anti-slavery John Browne, was done to take control of the federal armory in the south. During this event, Browne and his fought and killed southern men of the National Gaurd and the Army. During this fight, seventeen men died, and Browne was captured and charged with treason. This event wired the south because they had already been fearful of slave rebellions, and they were now convinced that abolitionists would stop at nothing to eradicate slavery. -
Abraham Lincoln won the election of 1860 by a considerable margin despite not being included in election ballots in the South. As a republican, Lincoln's views on slavery struck fear into the eyes of southern plantation owners. On the day of December 20, 1860, over a month after Lincoln's win, South Carolina seceded from the United States. This succession caused a ripple effect and six more states seceded from the country by the spring of 1861. This was the turning point to the start of the War.