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Invention of the Cotton Gin
The cotton gin was invented by Eli Whitney. This machine was invented to pick out the seeds in cotton. This made the number of slaves increase dramatically in the South when this invention was made. It also made cotton production grow rapidly and made the South a lot more rich. -
Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise was a problem where the people didn't know if Missouri should enter as a slave state or a free state. Southerners wanted to add Missouri as a slave state so they could have more power in the senate. Notherners wanted Missouri added as a free state so there wasn't more slave states than free states. The resolution ended up being adding Missouri as a slave state. Massachusetts is then broken up to form the state of Maine which enters as a free state. -
Missouri Compromise (Continued)
After Maine was added, the 36 degree 30 line was created. This meant that slavery was now only permitted South of this line. -
Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 was a compromise that added on California as a free state. This meant that there were now 16 free states and 15 slave states. Since there was now an unbalance in the amount of slave and free states, a law was passed called the fugitive slave law. This law was a law that required all slaves (runaway or free) to be returned to their masters. The Northerners did not like this law at all. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin was a novel written by Harriet Beecher. This novel was written to expose the evils and cruelty of the Slave System in the South. Southerners call the book “lies” and “Northern Propaganda”. This book opened the eyes though of people who live in the North and in Europe who have never seen a slave plantation before. They realize that the cotton grown in the south comes from this evil practice of slave labor. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
People everywhere wanted to know if the western land that has been undiscovered would be free territory or slave territory. An act was past called popular sovereignty which meant that the people in the area all decide on an issue or issues. Many anti-slavery forces were angered by this act. The Republican Party was formed as an anti-slavery movement. It was understood that if you were in the Republican Party at that time, you were against slavery. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act (Continued)
The new Republican Party, which was created in opposition to the act, aimed to stop the expansion of slavery and soon emerged as the dominant political party in the North, electing its first president in 1860. After this act and party, there was an event that happened known as "Bleeding Kansas". This was a battle fought between anti-slavery and pro-slavery forces to see if Kansas would be a slave state or free state. -
Pottawatomie Massacre
John Brown, an extreme abolitionist took seven other men to the cabins of several of his proslavery neighbors and murdered five people. Many Northerners were upset with the outcome of this massacre. In the end John Brown was hung fighting for the abolition of slavery. -
Dred Scott v. Sandford
In 1857, the United States Supreme Court decides on the issue of furthering dividing the country between those who favor slavery and those who oppose slavery. The Supreme Court ruled that according to the Constitution, slaves were strictly property of their owners and can never be U.S. citizens. After the Supreme Court's decision, anywhere in the United States can have slavery. -
Lincoln - Douglas Debates
The Lincoln Douglas Debates was a debate between Abraham Lincoln (opposed slavery) and Stephen Douglas (supporter of popular soereignty and slavery). Lincoln was not widely known at the time of this debate. This debate will soon play a huge role in the future because after this debate, Lincoln is widely kown and establishes himself as a leader of the Republican Party. This helps him win presidency in 1860. -
John Brown's Raid on Harper's Ferry
John Brown was a huge abolistionist. He had gone to Kansas and participated in the "Bleeding of Kansas". He had also killed 5 pro-slavery forces. Brown took his sons on a secret mission to attack a US arsenal, take all the weapons, suppl them to the slaves then rebel. All of his men were either captured or killed though which means his plan was a failure. The North tought of John as a hero but the South think of him as a terrorist and realize that the anti-slavery movement was groiwning rapidly. -
Election of 1860
The Presidential Election of 1860 was very intense because a person that was pro-slavery and a person who was anti-slavery were running against each other. Lincoln was the Republican candidate that is against the expansion of slavery. Lincoln ended up winning the election with just 40 percent of the votes which were all from the North. Lincoln mainly won because the Democratic party was split and not unified. -
Election of 1860 (Continued)
The South is now very concerned because they see that the Republicans will work to end to put an end to slavery. Some Southern states now want to secede. The first Southern state that does this is South Carolina. All of the Southern states decide to call themselves the Confederate States. Lincoln then gave a speech in 1858 about "A House Divided". This speech was an analogy for saying that half of the country was for slavery and that half of the country was against it. -
Secession of South Carolina
South Carolina was the first state to secede. They didn't want to be part of the Union anymore. When South Carolina seceded, it caused many more states to secede. Lincoln gave a speech a few years later about "A House Divided". By this, he meant that half of the country was for slavery and half was against. The half that was for slavery did not want to be part of the Union anymore because they wanted to keep up with their slave labor practices. -
Attack on Fort Sumter
On this day, rebel forces in South Carolina open fire on federal fort in Charleston Harbor and force its surrender. The Civil War is started with this attack. The nation is now at war against itself. Many people refer to the Civil War as brother vs. brother because families would be torn apart between pro-salvery and anti-slavery. Many siblings fought against each other in this war. This was a war fought between citizens in the same country.
