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Missouri Compromise
The Congress was fighting about whether or not Missouri would be a slave state. Clay didn't want a split in the Union and came up with the Missouri Compromise. Missouri would be a slave state and Maine would be admitted into the Union as a free state. That way, the balance of slave and free states would remain balanced. Also, the compromise drew a line west at 36 degrees 30' N latitude. Anything north of the line was a free state and anything South of the line would be a slave state. -
Compromise of 1850
(1) California was admitted as a free state. (2) The Fugitive Slave Act was passed that allowed Southern slave owners to get their fugitive slaves in the North. (3) Texas lost territory, but was compensated with $10 million dollars. (4) Slave trade was prohibited in Washington DC, but slavery was still allowed. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tomś Cabin was written by Harriet Beecher Stowe. She saw the horrors of slavery in the South and she decided to write a book to show the North what was going on. The book changed the way the North thought about slavery and addressed the problem even more. It persuaded the North that slavery must be stopped. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
The Kansas-Nebraska Act violated the Missouri Compromise. It let the people of Kansas and Nebraska decide, by popular sovereignty, if they were going to be a free or slave state. This went against the Missouri Compromise because Kansas was admitted as a free state even though Kansas was South of the 36 degree 30' North latitude. -
Dred Scott vs. Sanford
Dred Scott sued for his freedom and his case went all the way to the Supreme Court. However, Scott didn't win the court case because he was technically considered property and he was not a citizen. The Supreme Court also concluded that US Congress lacked the constitutional authority to bar slavery in the territories. -
John Brown's Raid on Harper's Ferry
John Brown and a few of his supporters hoped to raid Harper's Ferry and steal weapons. They wanted to arm slaves and help them lead a rebellion in the South. When they invaded the arsenal, they were caught by Lee and the US Marines. Brown was hanged. -
Election of 1860
Lincoln won the Election of 1860 because the Democratic Party was split on the idea of slavery. When Lincoln won, the South thought that they had no more say in the Congress and decided to secede from the Union. They felt like they had no voice in politics anymore, now that Lincoln, a strong believer in abolition. -
South Carolina Secedes
South Carolina seceded from the Union first. Then, most Southern states followed. They felt like they had no say anymore, so they left and made the Confederacy. They elected Jefferson Davis the president and they made Montgomery, Alabama the capital. -
Confederate States of America
The President of the Confederacy was Jefferson Davis. The South decided to start fighting because they wanted to defend slavery and their economy. -
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Attack on Fort Sumter
This was the first battle in the Civil War. The Union refused to take their soldiers out of the Confederate land, so the Confederacy came to try and drive them out. Anderson (Union) and his men put up a fight, but they were forced to surrender because of their lack of supplies. The Civil War had started.