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Missouri Compromise
This Compromise decided that Missouri would be admitted into the United States as a slave state, and Maine as a free state. It also stated that all northern states in the Louisianna purshase would be free states. The compromise was eventually deemed unconstitutional and repealed. -
Fugitive Slave Act
This Act forced runaway slaves to be returned home even if htey were in a free part of the country. The North was outraged by the Act, while the South strongly suppoorted it. -
Bleeding Kansas
There were many violent events in the Kansas territory leading up to the decision of whether it would
become a free or slave state. The events started on May 21st when a group of Southerners came into Lawrence, Kansas and burned down buildings in the city. Later, Congressman Preston Brooks beat Senator Charles Sumner with a cane after he gave a speech blaming Southerners for the violent events in Kansas. Several other violent events took place throughout the territory. -
The Dred Scott Decision
After Dred Scott's owner, Emerson, died in 1846, Scott sued Emerson's wife for freedom because they had lived in a free area with the family. After ten years of back and forth decisions between courts, Scott remained a slave. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin is a book written by Harriet Beecher Stowe about the life of a slave. The book was a national best-seller, but received mixed opinions from different parts of the country. Southerners thought it was propaganda, but the book helped Northerners understand how bad slavery really was. -
Harper's Ferry
John Brown and an army of 21 men marched to Harper's Ferry and planned to help slaves escape by attacking owners. They cut off the town's telegraph connection and weapon supply, and held 60 citizens hosage; no slaves attempted to help the group or to escape. The town's militia opened attack on John's army and 10 were killed. Later, John and the rest of the men were tried and executed, but during the trial his angry reports about slavery eventually encouraged other Americans to share his views. -
Abraham Lincoln's Election
Abraham Lincoln was elected as the 16th president in 1860 against John C. Breckinridge, John Bell, and Stephen Douglas. Lincoln wanted to stop the spread of slavery throughout the new territories. Before he was inaugurated, seven southern states had already seceded.
