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The ⅗ compromise was agreed upon in the Constitutional convention of 1787. Slaves in the South would be counted as ⅗ of a person on the census, which would lead to more representation in the House of Representatives due to an increased population. The North benefited because the South had to pay taxes on the Slaves. This would eventually lead to secession in the South because it put slavery in the constitution which would, in turn, make it much more difficult to remove the institution.
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Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin in 1793. This invention greatly improved the profitability of slavery. Without this invention, slavery would have gone away on its own because it was not a great way to make money. In turn, this invention led to the Civil War.
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The Compromise of 1850 was a compromise between the North and the South. California was admitted as a free state, which made the North have the Senate Majority. Washington DC was no longer allowed to participate in the slave trade under the compromise but slavery was still legal in the area. The South got The fugitive slave act out of the compromise. This law allowed Southerners to recapture escaped slaves in free states and also caused the kidnapping of many free African Americans from . . .
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the North. Popular sovereignty was also a component of the compromise, which allowed states to vote on whether or not they would allow slavery. This compromise did not ease tension as it was meant to; instead, it fanned the flames. The South was upset about California being a free state, and the North was upset about the Fugitive Slave act. Popular Sovereignty caused lots of controversy on both sides. All in all, the Compromise of 1850 was a major cause of the Civil War.
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Uncle Tom’s Cabin was written by Harriet Beecher Stowe. The book describes the violence involved in slavery and was very popular in the Northern states. The book caused northerners to be more radical abolitionists. In turn, the tension between the North and South increased.
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The controversial elections cause people who felt strongly about the cause to come to Kansas to riot, fight, and commit arson. Many people died and this event caused lots of bloodshed and disunion.
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Bleeding Kansas was a series of skirmishes in Kansas between pro and anti-slavery groups that lasted several years. The fights were caused by popular sovereignty, a component of the Compromise of 1850. Voter fraud from Missourians caused the election to decide Kansas would be a slave state. Since this voter fraud was evident, another election was held that required an ID and deed of land for voters. The second election decided that Kansas would be a free state. . .
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Sanford was a surgeon and Dred was his enslaved assistant. They moved to a free state and Sanford became an abolitionist. In an attempt to free the slaves by setting a precedent in court, Sanford had Dred sue him for his freedom because they were in a free state. Rather than freeing the slaves, this made slavery worse because Judge Tany set the precedent that slaves are property and cannot sue. Since this court case made slavery worse, tensions increased between the North and South.
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John Brown was a radical abolitionist from Connecticut. He believed that God wanted him to use violence to free the slaves. He attempted to inspire a slave revolt with his five sons in Harpers Ferry Virginia. He raided the armory and waited for the slaves to revolt. The slaves never came. His sons were killed in a firefight and he was hanged. This led to the Civil War because the North treated him like a hero even though he was a terrorist and the South was outraged.