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The Compromise of 1850 including the Fugitive Slave Act
The congress passed the Fugitive Slave Act on September 18th, 1850. President Millard Fillmore signed into the law which required slaves to return to their owner wether they were in a free state or not. -
1854 Kansas-Nebraska Act
The Kansas-Nebraska Act became law on May 30th, 1854. President Franklin Pierce signed into the law which raised the possibility that slavery could be extended into territories where it had once been banned. -
1854- 1856 Bleeding Kansas
Bleeding Kansas was fought between pro slavery and anti slavery advocates in Eastern Kansas and Western Missouri for control. A significant example of this violence was when John Brown and his sons killed five pro slavery advocates. -
Dred Scott V. Sandford
Born into slavery, Dred Scott was enslaved for almost 30 years. In 1832, though he was still enslaved Scott still stayed with his owners John and Irene Emerson, and didn’t attempt for his freedom until 1846. Scott filed a lawsuit for his freedom, but would tule against him and call for a retrial. Leading to Scott retrying his lawsuit for his freedom, and and to continue to be a free man. In 1850, Scott won his freedom ultimately making him a free man. -
Lincoln- Douglas Debates
In the Senate race of 1858, Senator Stephen Douglas would run against Abraham Lincoln. During these debates, both men argued about slavery, but Douglas wanted to keep slavery as he believed it was the best way to resolve the issues running of America and its different territories. These seven debates took place between August and October of 1858, with Stephen Douglas winning the final election. But even thought Douglas won, the debates created attention for Lincoln. -
John Brown’s Raid on Harpers Ferry
On the morning of October 19th, the soldiers overran Brown and his followers. Ten of his men were killed, including two of his sons. The wounded Brown was tried by the state of Virginia for treason and murder, which he was then found guilty of on November 2nd. Brown was subjected to being hung n December 2nd, 1859. -
Election of Abraham Lincoln
The Republican Party ticket of Abe Lincoln and Hannibal Hamlin, won a national plurality, a popular majority in the north where states already had abolished slavery, and national electoral majority compromising only northern electoral votes.