Events leading to the civil war

By Tpjosh20
  • Missouri compromise

    Missouri compromise

    1. Missouri entered as a slave state and Maine as a free state; slavery banned north of 36°30′ line.
    2. Tried to balance power between free and slave states but deepened sectional divides
  • Compromise of 1850

    Compromise of 1850

    1. California entered free; Utah and New Mexico allowed poplar sovereignty; fugitive slave act passed.
    2. North angry over fugitive slave act; south worried about free-state growth.
  • Fugitive Slave Act

    Fugitive Slave Act

    1. Required citizens to return runaway enslaved people to owners.
    2. Increased anti-slavery feelings in the North and tension over enforcement.
  • Uncle Tom’s Cabin Published

    Uncle Tom’s Cabin Published

    1. Harriet Beecher Stowe’s book exposed the cruelty of slavery.
    2. Increased Northern opposition to slavery; angered Southern slaveholders.
  • Kansas-Nebraska Act

    Kansas-Nebraska Act

    1. Allowed settlers in Kansas and Nebraska to vote on slavery.
    2. Led to violent conflict known as “Bleeding Kansas.”
  • Period: to

    Bleeding Kansas

    1. Pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers fought violently over slavery.
    2. Showed that popular sovereignty couldn’t solve the slavery issue peacefully.
  • Preston Brooks vs. Charles Sumner

    Preston Brooks vs. Charles Sumner

    1. Brooks attacked Sumner in the Senate after an anti-slavery speech.
    2. Showed how deep and violent political divisions had become.
  • Dred Scott Decision

    Dred Scott Decision

    1. Supreme Court ruled enslaved people were property, not citizens.
    2. Angered the North and strengthened Southern pro-slavery stance.
  • Lincoln-Douglas Debates

    Lincoln-Douglas Debates

    1. Lincoln and Douglas debated expansion of slavery in Illinois Senate race.
    2. Lincoln gained fame as an anti-slavery voice, dividing North and South further.
  • John Brown’s Raid on Harpers Ferry

    John Brown’s Raid on Harpers Ferry

    1. Abolitionist John Brown led an attack on a federal arsenal to start a slave revolt.
    2. Increased Southern fears of Northern aggression.
  • Election of Abraham Lincoln

    Election of Abraham Lincoln

    1. Lincoln won without Southern support.
    2. Southern states viewed him as a threat to slavery and began seceding.
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    Secession of Southern States

    1. Eleven Southern states left the Union to form the Confederacy.
    2. Eleven Southern states left the Union to form the Confederacy.
  • Attack on Fort Sumter

    Attack on Fort Sumter

    1. Confederate forces fired on a Union fort in South Carolina.
    2. Confederate forces fired on a Union fort in South Carolina.