-
The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850
The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 was part of the Compromise of 1850. The act was that slaves have to be returned to their owners, even if they are in a free state. The act also made the federal government responsible for finding and returning escaped slaves. -
The Kansas Nebraska Act of 1854
The Kansas Nebraska Act of 1854 was a territorial organic act that created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska. Under popular sovereignty, the citizens of each territory would determine whether slavery would be allowed. -
Period: to
Bleeding Kansas
Bleeding Kansas was a border war on the Kansas Missouri border. It started with the Kansas Nebraska Act of 1854. It continued into the American Civil War in 1854–1861. It was an horrible war between groups of people who had strong beliefs about slavery. -
Dried Scott vs Standford
legal case in which the U.S. Supreme Court on March 6, 1857, ruled that a slave named Dred Scott had resided in a free state and territory where slavery was prohibited was not entitled to his freedom. African Americans were not and couldn’t be citizens of the United States. -
Preston Brooks vs Charles Sumner 1858
The caning of Charles Sumner is probably the most famous violent attack in Congress, but it is far from the only one. In the three decades leading up to the Civil War, there were more than 70 violent incidents between congressmen. -
Lincoln-Douglas debates
Stephen Douglas and Abraham Lincoln faced off in a series of debates focused on slavery as they vied for a United States Senate seat representing Illinois. In the long term, the Lincoln-Douglas debates propelled Lincoln’s political career into the national spotlight. -
John Brown Raid on Harpers Ferry
On July 3, 1859 John Brown arrived in Harpers Ferry, accompanied by his sons, Oliver and Owen, and Jeremiah Anderson. He had raised money from other abolitionists and ordered weapons pikes and guns to be used in his war against slavery. -
Election of Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln is elected the 16th president of the United States Democratic Party. He was the first Republican to win the presidency. Lincoln received only 40 percent of the popular vote but handily defeated the three other candidates, Southern Democrat John C. Breckinridge, Constitutional Union candidate John Bell, and Northern Democrat Stephen Douglas, a U.S. senator for Illinois.