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The Missouri Compromise
Following the purchase of the Louisiana territory, Missouri declared their application for statehood as a slave state, which was controversial. A man named Henry Clay declared the Missouri Compromise in 1820, which consisted of allowing Missouri to be a slave state, as long as Maine was admitted as a free state. The compromise had the 36 30 line, which made it so all states in the Louisiana Territory north of that line had to become free states in order to be admitted to the United States. -
Nat Turner's Rebellion
In August 1831, a slave named Nat Turner began a slave rebellion that spread throughout southern Virginia. Turner, along with 70 other slaves, killed approximately 60 white people. The rebellion was stopped after the militia was deployed to suppress the slaves. Following the rebellion was the trial and execution of 55 slaves, including Nat Turner. Nat Turner’s rebellion was the bloodiest at the time. Slaves in Virginia lost many rights after the rebellion including the prohibition of education. -
Wilmot Proviso
At the conclusion of the Mexican-American War, a man named David Wilmot proposed a piece of legislation called the Wilmot Proviso. If the proposal had passed, it would have outlawed slavery in all acquired territories from wars. Wilmot tried for two years to get his plan approved. All of David Wilmot’s attempts failed, but the Wilmot Proviso began the debate that lead to the first conversations about secession. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote the book Uncle Tom’s Cabin in 1852. Uncle Tom’s Cabin was a fictional story about slave life, that allowed people to see what slavery was really like. People in the north were horrified at the idea of slavery after reading the book, while people in the south protested the book. In the first year after the book was released, it sold over 300,000 copies. During the 19th century, Uncle Tom’s Cabin was the second best-selling book in the United States, following the Bible -
Bleeding Kansas
Bleeding Kansas was a result following the passing of the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854. This act allowed the citizens in both Kansas and Nebraska to vote on whether or not slavery should be allowed in those territories. This went against the Missouri Compromise, so people traveled to Kansas in order to either fight for slavery or fight against slavery. There were violent outbreaks over the years following with over fifty deaths, until finally both territories ratified anti-slavery constitutions. -
Dred Scott v. Sanford
Dred Scott, a slave from Virginia, sued for his freedom and was denied his rights. The Supreme Court declared that Scott was a piece of property and nothing more. This angered the slaves and promoted the idea of Civil War further. -
The Election of Abraham Lincoln
The election of President Abraham Lincoln brought with it anger from the South. Lincoln was a Republican, and his anti-slavery views concerned the Southern plantation owners. A month after the election, South Carolina seceded from the Union.
