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Eli Whitney's Cotton Gin
The cotton gin is a mechanical device that picks seeds out of cotton by pulling the cotton through mesh which separates the seeds from the cotton. Eli Whitney invented it, with the help of his slave, to make slave labor easier. It had the opposite effect and the slave population grew exponentially because it became much more profitable. This created animosity over the biggest political issue of slavery, between the North and the South, which helped lead to the civil war, -
Missouri Compromie
The Missouri Compromise was all about slavery. The compromise made Missouri a slave state. It also created the state of Maine and made it a free state to keep the balance of power in congress. It also made slavery illegal north of the 36 30’ line. This compromise had a negative effect. The north and south already disagreed about slavery but this made a physical barrier literally dividing the country in two. They then disagreed about slavery even more, the main civil war issue was slavery. -
Taiff of 1832
The tariff of 1832 was a protective tariff on British imported clothing. This favored the northern industry making it so they had cheaper goods and could sell much more and make much more profit. The south, particularly South Carolina, was outraged. Andrew Jackson wanted to use martial law to force South Carolina to cooperate. Henry Clay created a compromise by reducing the tariff gradually over 10 years to satisfy the South. The tariff just made the North and South hate each other even more. -
Mexican-American War
The Mexican-American war was an armed conflict between Mexico and the United states. The war was over the territory of Texas, which was a Mexican territory at the time, despite the Texas revolution. The war only lasted a year and a half. The US invaded Mexico, captured Mexico City, and won the war. Although the country got the Texas territory and the Mexican cession, it brought much more controversy along with it. There were now western states that could be made either free or slave states. -
Compromise of 1850
The compromise of 1850 was about slavery. It did a few things. It made California a free state, ended slave trade in Washington DC, and made the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. It also made it so slavery in new territories was based on popular sovereignty. This had very negative effects. It made it so slave owners got federal money for runaway slaves, and it made new states up to the people for free vs. slave states. This made little battles over all the undecided states between the North and South. -
Uncle Toms Cabin
Uncle Tom’s Cabin was a book written by Harriet Beecher Stowe in Brunswick, Maine. It was an anti-slave book and was the second best selling book of the century behind only the bible. It is about a long suffering slave nicknamed Uncle Tom and all the slaves around him. It shows the reality of slavery and how horrible it is. The novel questioned the morality of slavery and got a lot more people to side with the north on the issue of slavery, causing much conflict, and resulting in war. -
Election of Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States. Lincoln represented the north in the election and was very against the expansion of slavery. Once Lincoln was elected, the southern states succeeded from the nation so they could remain slave states. Lincoln wanted the country to remain as a single country, so the civil war then began. The war was a long time coming but the election was the final piece that actually began the war.
