Events Leading To The Civil War

  • Slavery In Jamestown

    This is when slavery was first introduced to North America. It spread from there.
  • Constitution Was Written

    In the Constitution the government conveniantly left out the isue of slavery for a later date. Only the 3/5 Comprise addressed anything about slavery stating that slaves were to be counted as 3/5's of a person.
  • Bill Of Rights

    The Bill of Rights addressed only the rights of white men that were American citizens. Slaves were not considered citizens or people.
  • Cotton Gin

    Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin to help slaves and give them less work and decrease the need for them. Instead, this increased the need for slaves because plantation owners were able to produce more cotton.
  • Uncle Tom's Cabin

    Uncle Tom's cabin was written by Harriet Beecher Stowe that described what she presumed life for slaves was like. It includingg bloody and horrible stories that turned many people against the idea of slavery, mostly the Northeners. The Southeners absolutly hated it.
  • Missouri Compromise

    The Missouri Compromise stated that No territories above the 36'30' latitude line could be a slave state. That was later broken which angered many Northeners.
  • Kansas Nebraska Act

    This act basically cancelled out the Missouri Compromises. It based whether the two territories of Kansas and Nebraska would be slave or free states based on Popular Soverignty. People from both the North and South flooded into the territories. This caused fighting and occasional bloodshed, which really turned the two agaisnt eachother.
  • South Carolina Secedes

    South Carolina was the first state to secede from the Union. They wanted slavery to be legal land did not want to be in a country where it was not. Shortly after six more states followed. In the end, ten states had seceded creating the Confederate States of America.
  • Abe takes Office

    Abraham Lincoln took office. When he won the election, though, only theh Northern states voted for him. The southerners hated him. He was against slavery and the South finally had enough.
  • Period: to

    Fort Sumter

    The Confederate States attacked Fort Sumter which was a fort that belonged to the Union. This finally meant what had been long expected due to the prolonged wait to address the issue of slavery. This was the first battle. The Civil War had begun.