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Three-Fifths Compromise
- a clause written in the Constitution that counted slaves as three-fifths of a person -helped balance the representation in the South and the gathering of taxes -South was able to have more representatives in the House -South gained more power through politics -one of the first main issues where the North saw slavery as a disadvantage and the South saw it as an advantage
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Events Leading to the Civil War
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Fugitive Slave Act of 1793
- required the return of slaves to their owners -slave catchers could accuse any black of being a slave, return them and receive compensation -Northerners were punished for helping fugitives -kept slaves from reaching freedom -it was a loss of property and money for the slave owners -severely enforced in 1850 -angered Northerners and sparked the abolition movement and the Underground Railroad
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Invention of the Cotton Gin
- invented by Eli Whitney in 1793 and patented in 1794
- machine separated seeds from the cotton faster than by hand
- started the Industrial Revolution
- mass production of cotton in the South began
- changed the South’s economy; they had a reliable crop to export and profit off of
- South acquired more slaves to work the cotton and the machinery which allowed them to expand slavery
- plantations grew and became wealthier
- the power the South gained created a sectional boundary
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Missouri Compromise
- Missouri admitted as a slave state
- Maine admitted as a free state
- Compromise meant to balance the number of slave and free states
- Slavery would not be allowed above the 36th parallel
- Unified the nation for over 30 years until it was repealed
- Kept Slavery in the South and prevented it from spreading further North
- Kept the South from gaining too much power in the House
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Wilmot Proviso
- Introduced by David Wilmot
- Wanted to prohibit slavery in the territories gained from Mexico
- Wanted to stop the spread of slavery
- Created tension between the North and the South
- Was a failed amendment because the Senate would not approve of it (the Senate was mostly Southern-dominated)
- Increased sectionalism
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Compromise of 1850
- A series of compromises benefitting the North and the South
- Fugitive Slave Law was harshly enforced
- California admitted as a free state
- Slave trade ends in D.C. but slavery is still permitted
- Mexican Cession becomes Utah and New Mexico which are open to popular sovereignty
- U.S. pays $10 million to Texas for the loss of territory to New Mexico
- Compromise was meant to maintain peace within the nation
- Fugitive Slave Law angered abolitionists and they would not enforce it
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Uncle Tom's Cabin published
- Written by Harriet Beecher Stowe
- Was an anti-slavery book
- Incorporated religion to open people’s eyes to sin of slavery
- Millions of copies were distributed
- Stowe encountered runaway slaves and the Underground Railroad which inspired her to become a voice for the slaves
- The South disapproved of the book even though it was a real depiction of slavery
- Fired up abolitionists
- Influenced people’s thoughts about slavery and convinced them that slavery was a sin and to join abolition
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Kansas-Nebraska Act
- Proposed by Stephen A. Douglas
- Two territories, Kansas and Nebraska, would be created
- The territories should use popular sovereignty to decide whether to permit slavery or not
- People against slavery argued that slavery shouldn’t be allowed because of the Missouri Compromise, however, the Missouri Compromise was repealed
- Pro-slavery and anti-slavery citizens physically clashed and tried to influence the outcome of their election by flocking to the territories
- Republican party formed
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Dred Scott v. Sandford
- Dred Scott spent a few years in Illinois and Wisconsin, which were both free, and asked to be granted freedom because he believed that since he lived in free land, he had the right to become a free man
- The Supreme Court was mostly from the South and was pro-slavery
- They ruled that Scott couldn’t sue because he was black and he was not a person according to the Constitution
- Scott was property and his owner was allowed to take him wherever he wanted, as private property
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South Carolina secedes from the Union
- South Carolina threatened to secede if Lincoln became President
- After Lincoln was elected, a convention was held and a unanimous vote was for secession
- South Carolina started to influence the other Southern states who were also thinking of seceding
- Long-term conflicts had split up the Union and it would be the final straw before the Civil War
- President Buchanan didn’t think the Southern states could legally secede, but the Constitution had no ability to stop them
