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Compromise of 1850
- Texas was paid $10 million to scale back its land claims in the west
- California was admitted as a free state.
- Washington, D.C., was required to end the slave trade in the city, but slavery was still legal
- A Stricter Fugitive Slave Act was passed
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Fugitive Slave Act
- All fugitive slaves must be returned to their masters
- Any person who was caught giving shelter, food, or protection to a runaway slave could be subject to up to six months in prison
- The North felt this was a way of expanding the power and reach of slavery
- Congress had made it illegal to even assist a fugitive slave
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Uncle Tom's Cabin
- The 2nd highest selling book of the 19th century
- About an old slave that got mistreated by his owner
- Many joined the abolitionist movement after learning the harsh realities of life as a slave
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Kansas Nebraska Act
- The Kansas-Nebraska Act allowed each territory to decide the issue of slavery by having the people decide
- Bleeding Kansas” is violently torn in half for years between pro-slave/anti-slave.
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Dred Scott Decision
- Supreme Court ruled that Dred Scott was property and not a citizen and had no right to sue
- The ruling declared that the Missouri Compromise prohibiting slavery in the Northern territories was unconstitutional
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Harper’s Ferry
- Attack on Harper's Ferry by abolitionist John Brown
- Brown leads a group of men to attack the weapons arsenal at Harpers Ferry
- Raid fails and Brown is captured and hanged for treason
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Lincoln's Election
- Lincoln was the only candidate against slavery
- No southern states voted for Lincoln
- Lincoln’s election pushed the nation to the brink of war
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Attack on Ft. Sumter
- The South fired upon Fort Sumter as the Union tried to resupply it
- President Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers