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Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise settled the issue of slavery in new territories. It declared that territories above the 36 30 line were declared free. This was a controversial issue between both the North and South and was the start of the tension between them. -
The Mexican American War
James K Polk wanted to buy most of the land in the Southwest from Mexico, but they wouldn't sell. He then led an army without addressing congress into Mexico City with almost no challenge. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed giving the United States California, New Mexico, and parts of Texas. This war was condemned by the North because they thought it was a war for the South to expand slavery into the newly acquired southern territories. -
Wilmot's Proviso
Wilmot's Proviso was a proposed law by Pennsylvania Congressman David Wilmot. It proposed that all territories gained in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo be claimed free states to limit the expansion of slavery. Since the Union was equal with 15 free and 15 slave states, the Southern senators could reject any law that threatened slavery. This damaged the relationship between the North and South because the South was sure that as soon as the North won office they would threaten slavery. -
Fugitive Slave Act
The Fugitive Slave Act was part of the Compromise of 1850 which stated that all runaway slaves had to be returned without a trial by jury. Because of this many free blacks were taken back into slavery. The North was outraged and many were compelled to help freed slaves escape the country. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
The book by Harriet Beacher Stowe was a best seller that described the treatment of slaves in the South. It made the Northerners angry and looked at the South as monsters. The South burned the books and beat anyone who possessed it. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
The Kansas Nebraska Act repealed the Missouri Compromise which was basically the Bible for Northerners and Northern expansion. It said that the people of any territory could vote whether or not to be a free or slave state. The North grew angrier with the South and thought that the popular sovereignty would expand slavery across the country. -
Formation of the Republican Party
The Republican Party was formed on one idea, and that was to abolish slavery. It grew and gained lots of attention and the South viewed them as enemies. The country was now politically split in two. -
Two Party System
The South was Democrat, the North was Republican. The two sides fought on every issue and never came to terms with anything especially slavery. They wanted nothing to do with one another. -
Violence at Capitol Hill
Congressman Preston Brooks of South Carolina beat Senator Charles Sumner of Massachussets with a cane after Sumner attacked slavery. The North was appauled at the incident and wanted drastic measures to be taken on Brooks while the South praised Brooks. If our government is collapsing, how can we stay together? -
Bleeding kansas
After the Kansas Nebraska Act, Kansas was allowed to vote on slavery so pro-slavery people from Missouri crossed the border and threatened those who voted for a free state. When Northerners heard, they went downt to Kansas and started a battle that killed hundreds. Compromise was no longer the answer to the slavery arguement, it needed to be battle. -
1858 Election
Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas debated for the senate spot in Illinois. It came down to Lincoln, being very anti-slavery and wanted to keep it where it was, against Douglas and his popular sovereignty principle. Republicans gained much more power and the South grew much more fearful. -
John Brown's Massacre
John Brown led a slave revolt to give the slaves guns at Harper's Ferry. The South thought of Brown as a villain while the North thought of him as a martyr. After this event the South wasnt safe in the Union so they created the Confederate Army. -
Supreme Court vs the North
The Supreme Court ruled that slavery could not be restricted in any territory in the Dred Scott case, which went against the Missouri Compromise and the Kansas-Nebraska. The North thought that the Southern dominated Supreme Court could rule that slavery was legal everywhere, so the Republican Party grew larger and grew more support. -
1860 Presidential Election
Lincoln vs Breckinridge or North vs South. Lincoln had the support of every northern and anti-slavery state in the Union which gave him the edge with the higher population in the North. The South saw Lincoln's election as a death threat to slavery and the start of secession. -
Secession and Fort Sumner
Seven of the states from the south had already seceded from the Union. The North had a fort in South Carolina called Fort Sumter. It was attacked by Southern forces and although no one died in the attack, it marked the first of many hostilities between the North and South. After the fall of Fort Sumter, four more southern states seceded and Lincoln only presided over half of the country. War was necessary. -
The Crittenden Compromise
The last attempt to keep the Union together. It brought back ideas from the Missouri Compromise that would stop the expansion of slavery, but by then it was already decided that compromise was not an option.
