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Northwest Ordinance
This ordinance allowed no slavery North of the Ohio River or East of the Mississippi River. The fact that the North was now forbidding slavery within itself really started to prove that they would not tolerate slavery, and I feel like it was a slap in the face to the South because it was just like saying "Do not even bother trying" when it came to the South wanting to expand slavery. This built tensions between both sides. -
Eli Whitney invents the cotton gin
With the invention of the Cotton gin, slavery was expanded and used far more expansively then before. Slavery became even more popular among cotton plantations because the new machine allowed cotton to be picked and strung much quicker then before. Because this invention promoted more cotton growing, it also promoted the fuel for the picking of cotton in slavery. -
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Growth of the Abolitionist movement
Although there were many different things that happened during this span of time, a big event would be that the Reform movements were becomming much higher scale and the Abolitionst movement was one of those. Gaining support due to events like John Brown raiding Harpers Fairy, and other abolitionists making their points and views heard, other people began to join in on these thoughts. The gaining support to Abolitionists hurt the South and made them feel like they had to do something about it. -
Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise allowed Missouri to enter the Union as a slave state, with the admittance of Maine as a free state to balance the two sides. It also prohibited slavery in states in the Louisiana Purchase north of the souther boundary of Missouri. This was a huge hit against the South and their way of life because it limited their ability to expand if they wanted to do so with slavery. -
Manifest Destiny
The concept of Manifest Destiny was a real problem. Manifest Destiny was the belief that American people had the right to, and were supposed to, migrate westward and inhabit the new western lands. The issue here is now that it is settled by people, some from the south and some from the north, what do you do about slavery? This added very much tension to the already debated issue and fueled the South to want to succeed and preserve their way of life with slavery in it. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin is published
The book is all for anti-slavery, in it's depiction of slavery's awfulness and it's true and realistic hardships. It was was banned in the south to prevent any slave rebellions and the North loved it because it helped them fuel the fire to end slavery. -
Dred Scott v. Sanford
In this case, Dred Scott, an enslaved man was brought into a free state, and he tried to sue for his freedom. In doing so, the supreme court denied Scott of his right to freedom because they said that the Missouri compromise was unconstitutional and that the state had no right to Sanfords "property" which slaves were at the time. Because Scott was in afree state and denied his freedom, the decision sparked much uproar and really set fire to more debates and arguments over slavery and it's uses.
