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Conflicts Leading up to the Civil War
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Mexican American War
While the Mexican American War in and of itself was not directly related to the American Civil War, the results of it were. With the United States victory and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, Mexico ceded much of its northern territory including California, New Mexico, Arizona, and other southwestern states. This led to a growing conflict and power struggle between the Northern and Southern states revolving around slavery. -
Anthony Burns- Attack Court House
Anthony Burns was a runaway slave that was caught and arrested after escape in Boston, MA. Under the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, it was required for him to be returned to slavery. Some outraged abolitonists from the north rescued him from slavery by storming the courthouse and killing one of the Deputy Marshals at the court. He was then transported baack to VA and slavery. This issue helped illustrate the problems that were building up in the mid 1850s. -
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Bleeding Kansas
Beginning with the Kansas-Nebraksa Act of 1854, Bleeding Kansas was a time period that was named after the land dispute of Kansas. Pro-slavery southerners and antislavery northerners both moved to the Kansas area in an attempt to gain the upper hand through popular sovereignty. This led to several disputes and deaths over the course of seven years up until the Civil War broke out in 1861. -
Sacking of Lawrence
On this day, 800 pro-slavery southerners attacked the anti-slavery village of Lawrence in Kansas. Although there was only one casualty and one death, this made a statement to many during the years known as "Bleeding Kansas". -
Preston Brooks' attack on Charles Sumner
On May 20 of the 1856, Charles Sumner made a speech in which he publicly insulted several slave owners/ pro-slavery men. One of the men he insulted was Senator Andrew Butler of SC. Two days after the event, Butler's nephew Preston Brooks publicly beat Sumner in retaliation to the speech. This extreme example showed how worked up people were getting over slavery. -
Dred Scott Decision
This controversial case over a slave that had been moved to free territory in the north by his owner. When Scott sued, the Supreme Court decided that Scott had no right to sue, since he was not an American citizen, and since he was "property" he was allowed to be taken to other lands and still be a slave. Through this ruling, slavery could essentially be allowed anywhere in the United States whether it was a free or slave state/ territory. -
Marais des Cygnes Massacre
The last SIGNIFICANT act of violence during Bleeding Kansas, the massacre of Marais des Cygnes involved the capture of 11 anti slavery men from Kansas who were taken to be executed by pro-slavery Charles Hamilton. Five of the eleven were shot and killed while the other six managed to escape. Hamilton was never prosecuted for the crime. -
The Raid on Harper's Ferry
On October 16 of 1859, John Brown led an attack with 21 other men including slaves, in an attempt to start a slave uprising in the south. Brown was a radical abolitionist and saw himself as God's tool to free slaves. Although it didn't end well (Brown was hanged) it did send a message to many slaves and abolitionists of the time period, and it was a major catalyst of the Civil War. -
South Carolina Secession
With the secession of South Carolina from the Union in 1860, almost all hope of getting through the conflict without a battle of some sort vanished. The president at the time, James Buchanan, let them go with little resistance and shortly after, six other states seceded setting the stage for the War to begin. -
Attack on Fort Sumter
The attack on Fort Sumter by Confederate soldiers marked the first shots of the American Civil War. President Abraham Lincoln tried to keep all of the US Government possesion still in the south, but was unable to secure the Fort from the Confederate fire. Shortly afterwards, Lincoln assembled an army of about 75,000 men to go to war with the Confederate States of America.
