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The Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise was a series of agreements leading to the decision to make Missouri a slave state and to make Maine a free state in order to preserve congressional balance. A divisional parallel line split the north and the south, causing tension between the two sides. -
Nat Turner's Rebellion
Nat Turner's Rebellion was the only successful, sustained slave rebellion in US history. This event sparked terror in the white South, resulting in heightened pro-slavery beliefs and enforcement of the slave codes. -
The Wilmot Proviso
The Wilmot Proviso was a piece of legislature proposed by David Wilmot. If it would've been passed, the bill would have outlawed slavery in any new territory acquired from Mexico during the Mexican American War. Despite its failure, the discussion over the matter sparked the idea of secession in southerners. -
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Dred Scott Case
Dred Scott was a slave who went to the federal court in attempt to declare himself as a free man. He believed that since he lived and worked in a free state, he should be released from slavery. The court decided since Scott wasn't a citizen, he could not sue in a federal court. This case was very controversial, people from different parts of the US had different beliefs on if the courts' decision was just or not. -
Fugitive Slave Act
The Fugitive Slave Act was passed by the US Congress after increased pressure from Southern politicians. The new law forcibly compelled citizens to capture any run away slaves and return them to their owners. This angered the northerners and increased efforts against slavery. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin is a famous anti-slavery novel written by Harriet Beecher Stowe.The book sold 300,000 within three months of it's release, but was banned in the South for being abolitionist propaganda. -
Kansas Nebraska Act
The Kansas Nebraska Act was a bill that put "popular sovereignty" into effect. When both Kansas and Nebraska were new territories, settlers flooded there in order to give their opinions on whether they should be slave states or free states. The mix of northerners and southerners in the same area caused disputes and violence over the slavery debate. -
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Bleeding Kansas
Bleeding Kansas is a term used to describe the period of violence during the settling of the Kansas territory. The conflict was based on two sides, pro slavery and free-state settlers, fighting over whether Kansas would become a slave state or a free state. -
Abraham Lincoln's Election
Abraham Lincoln was elected as President of the United States in 1860, despite the negative opinion southerners had of him. Many secessionists used this as an excuse to leave the Union. By June of 1861, eleven states had seceded. -
The Battle of Fort Sumter
On the morning of April 12th, 1861, Confederate soldiers open fired on Fort Sumter in South Carolina. The next day, Major Robert Anderson, garrison commander, surrendered the fort and evacuated. This was considered to be the beginning event of the Civil War.
