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The Missouri Compromise admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a non-slave state at the same time so as not to upset the balance between slave and free states. -
A group of enslaved African Americans, led by Nat Turner, killed 55-65 white people. It was the deadliest revolt in the history of the United States. -
A conflict between the U.S. and Mexico was fought from April 1846 to February 1848. It was caused by a boundary dispute between the U.S and Texas on the Nueces Strip. -
A provision was added to James Polks appropriations bill, which gave 2 million dollars to acquire land from Mexico. It banned slavery in any territory bought with these funds. -
A rapid influx of fortune seekers in California that began after gold was found at Sutters Mill in early 1846 and reached its peak in 1852. -
A series of measures proposed by U.S. Senator Henry Clay and passed by the U.S. Congress to settle issues connected to slavery and avert the threat of dissolution of the Union. -
Harriet Tubman was an escaped slave woman who helped to free other slaves by taking them through the Underground Railroad. Between 1850 and 1860 she helped free approximately 70 people. -
Was a part of the Compromise of 1850 and required that slaves be returned to their owners, even if they were in a free state. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin, written by Harriet Beecher Stowe, was a book whose characters' portrayal of their struggles opened reader's eyes to the realities of slavery and the humanity of enslaved people. -
Repealed the Missouri Comprimise, created two new territories, and allowed for popular sovereignty. -
A series of violent civil confrontations in Kansas territory, and to a lesser extent in western Missouri. -
Dred Scott, who was a slave, sued his master because he moved from a slave to a free territory. The Supreme Court ruled that Dred Scott was not free and that people had the right to control their property which meant that slavery could be allowed even in the northern states. -
A series of formal political debates between Lincoln and Douglas about slavery and its influence on American politics and society. -
It was a raid led by John Brown and a group of his supporters. Its goal was to initiate a slave revolt in Southern states by taking over the United States arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia. -
The election of 1860 was an American election between Republican Abraham Lincoln and Southern Democratic John C. Breckinridge. It marked the first time in American history that a Republican was elected president. -
After Abraham Lincoln was elected president, South Carolina, which was, at the time, a slave state, saw his election as a threat to slavery. Calling a state convention, the delegates voted to remove the state of South Carolina from the union known as the United States of America.