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the Missouri compromise was passed in 1820, admitting to the U.S. both Maine as a free state and Missouri as a slave state. the Missouri compromise also states that the Louisiana territory north of the Southern border would be free of slavery and that southern slave owners could pursue escaped slaves past the northern border. this compromise was proposed by Henry Clay to satisfy both the north and south. -
In 1845, David Wilmot proposed the Wilmot proviso. his goal was to help stop the spread of slavery. the Wilmot proviso was a proposal to prohibit slavery in the territory gained by the united states at the end of the Mexican war. senate approved the bill but rejected the proviso, so it didn't stop slavery from expanding. However, this proposal reopened discussions about slavery and whether it should expand. -
The compromise of 1850 was five bills passed by Congress. It put an end to slave trade in Washington D.C. and admitted California as a free state. Texas lost the New Mexico territory. This compromise also made it easier for southern slave owners to catch their runaway slaves. Finally, states now voted if they wanted slavery in their state. -
The fugitive slave act was a part of the compromise of 1850. it made it easier than ever for southern slave owners to catch their escaped slaves. if you were an escaped slave, the law required you to be returned to your previous slave owner. the government and citizens were required to help catch them. Even if you were a free black person, if someone said that you were an escaped slave, you would be a slave again. this violated the few liberties the African Americans had. -
Published in 1852, Uncle Tom's Cabin, by Harriet Beecher Stowe, was about the uncensored life of slavery. Harriet heard stories from slaves over the years and compiled them into a character, to show people the reality that slaves go through. People were shocked by this; it changed the views of so many people who'd didn't know who slaves were treated. Southern slave owners didn't like this and they sent many threats to Harriet Beecher Stowe. One even sent the severed ear of a slave. -
The Kansas Nebraska Act was passed by the U.S. Congress on may 30, 1854. It allowed Kansas and Nebraska to choose for themselves whether they wanted slavery within their borders. This act then repealed the Missouri Compromise, and was all referred to as "Bleeding Kansas" because pro and anti slavery groups fought and there was a lot of blood spilled. this act was a major cause for tension between pro and anti slavery groups. -
In 1857, Dred Scott was told by the court that since he was African American, he could never become a citizen of the U.S. A year before this, however, Dred Scott sued for his own freedom. The Chief Justice Roger B. Taney and 6 other justices struck down the Missouri Compromise as unconstitutional. -
The Lincoln Douglas Debates were seven debates in 1858 between Stephen A. Douglas and Abraham Lincoln about the issue of slavery. Southerners believed that Lincoln was an abolitionist. Lincoln mostly made points about how the Union must stick together, while Douglas threatened those points. -
From October 16th to 18th in 1859, abollitionist John Brown attempted to start a slave revolt in southern states by armin slaves. Brown led a small group against a federal armory in Harpers Ferry, Virginia< to gain access to weapons. 17 people were killed in the raid, 10 of which were in the group Brown led. -
Abraham Lincoln was elected president in 1860. He won without a single electoral vote from the South. This made the South realize that there wasn't an equal balance in the U.S. anymore. The realized that the North -
The southern secession essentially marks the beginning of the civil war. after the election if 1860, southern states seceded from the union because they knew the north had more power than the south. southerners wanted to keep their system of slavery. 11 slave states seceded and four border states had slaves, but remained a part of the union. the union wanted the south to reunite with the north, and that's when the civil war started.