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Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise was the "permanent" solution to slavery by establishing the 36 30 line as a boundary allowing slavery to spead beneath it. -
War with Mexico
The war with Mexico provided new slave territories below the 36 30 boundary line, potentially upsetting the balance between slave and free states in the senate. -
Wilmot Proviso
Wilmot Proviso was created to ban slavery from all new Mexican territories, but it never became a law because the South voted against it, further destrying the relations between the North and the South. -
Fugitive Slave Act
The Fugitive slave act allowed Southern slave owners to follow and capture their runaway slaves in the North, and Notherners were required to return runaway slaves if found. These captured slaves were not allowed trial by jury since they technically had no legal rights, causing much havoc in the North between peoples' morals and the law. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
The Kansas-Nebraska act abolished the 36 30 line established 34 years ago in the Missouri Compromise. These states believed in popular sovereingty, which meant that the state could decide based on popular vote, whether the state would allow slavery or not. This idea, introduced by Steven Douglass, opened the door to slavery in states above the original boundary. -
Bleeding Kansas
As Kansas was trying to figure out if it would be a slave state or not, some border Missourians came and tried to intimidate Kansas' decision. Thousands died over this issue, hence the name "Bleeding Kansas." The state ended up being divided until the pro-slavery side destroyed the other in the Sack of Lawrence in 1856. -
Republican Party
Northern outrage over Bleeding Kansas led to the formation of the Republican Party in Wisconsin. This party was created by those who supported the restriction of slavery from all territories. However, the South viewed this as a declaration of war. This party was made up of Whigs and Northern Democrats. -
Breakdown of Two-Party System
The breakdown of the two party system ends Northern and Southern allegiance. Both sides contained radical views of slavery, whether to abolish it completely or let it flourish, the issue permanently divided the sections. -
Congressmen Fight!
Violence over the issue of slavery escalates as congressman Preston Brooks from South Carolina beat up Sentaor Charles Sumner of Massachusetts with a cane. This showed that even representatives of the different states, who were supposed to be diplomatic, calm, and collected, couldn't even contain their outrage from the other side. -
Dred Scott
Since the Supreme Court was Southern-saturated, the outcome of the Dred Scott case decided that a slave, free for ten years, was forced to become a slave again because he moved to a slave state. The main point, that the states could not interfere with the enforcement of Federal law was reiterated in the Ableman vs. Booth case when the Supreme Court decided the Missouri Compromise null and void. -
House Divided
In the 1858 election for Illinois, Abraham Lincoln gave a famous speech declaring that a house divided cannot stand, saying that the US won't last long being one half pro-slavery and the other half anti-slavery. His opponent however, Stephen Douglas, still argued for popular sovereingty. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin Starts a Fire
Stowe's novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin, sparks an uproar in the North because it provided a horrible insight into slavery. This novel caused many neutral Northerners to question their stance, and whether or not slavery is really moral. This anti-slavery novel also angered Southerners because it "cast an unfavorable light" on slavery, and not every plantation was as horrible as the one depicted. -
John Brown
John Brown constructed a plan to supply a slave revolt in Virginia. His plan failed, but it confirmed Southern suspicion that Northerners were ready to provide slaves with the supplies they needed to kill their masters and put an end to slavery. -
1860 Election
The 1860 election essentially was a national competition over slavery. The federal government essentially was made up of men hostile to slavery and promising to restrict the expansion of slavery. Many Southerners felt like they had no choice but to abandon the Union or face the demolition of slavery. -
Seven State Secede
Seven states in the lower South seceded from the Union, with another four to follow after the fall of Fort Sumter. When Lincoln took over as president, he only presided over half a country. At this point, there was no turning back, -
Crittenden Compromise
The Crittenden Compromise was the last effort to save the Union by means of reestablishing the Missouri Compromise, but it failed to attract much support nationally.
