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Second Continental Congress Ends Slave Trade
The Second Continental Congress resolves "that no slaves be imported into any of the thirteen United Colonies. This caused an uproar and the debats began. -
Missouri Compromise
In the growth years following the 1803 Louisiana Purchase, Congress was compelled to establish a policy to guide the expansion of slavery into the new western territory. Missouri’s application for statehood as a slave state sparked a bitter national debate. In addition to the deeper moral issue posed by the growth of slavery, the addition of pro-slavery Missouri legislators would give the pro-slavery faction a Congressional majority. -
Willmot proviso
David Willmot gave the idea of the "Wilmot Proviso". This baned slavery in the new lands. There was debates, so they came up with the compromise of 1850. This prompted the first serious disscusion of secession. -
Mexican War ended
With the end of the Mexican War, America gave up western land. This was a problem because the new land would be turned into states and slavery was a concern . ( caused compromise of 1850 )
This whole ordeal caused the spread of "The manifest Destiney" -
Fugitive Slave Act
Congress enacted the Fugitive Slave Act to assist the South with maintaining a tight rein on slaveholders’ property. This caused even more tension between slaves and the government. -
The Compromise of 1850
Senator Henry Clay introduced a series of resolutions on January 29, 1850, in an attempt to seek a compromise and avert a crisis between North and South. As part of the Compromise of 1850, the Fugitive Slave Act was amended and the slave trade in Washington, D.C., was abolished.This led to an increase poilarization amoung centrist citizens. -
Uncle Tom's cabin Released
Uncle Tom’s Cabin was the second-best-selling book in America in the 19th century, second only to the Bible. Its popularity brought the issue of slavery to life for those few who remained unmoved after decades of legislative conflict and widened the division between North and South. -
The Ostend Manifesto
The Ostend Manifesto, a.k.a. Ostend Circular, was a document written in 1854 that described the rationale for the United States to purchase Cuba from Spain while implying that the U.S. should declare war if Spain refused. This further strained the relationship between the north and the south. -
Kansas - Nebraska act
The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, narrowly passed while Congressmen brandished weapons and uttered death threats in the House chambers, overturned parts of the Missouri Compromise by allowing the settlers in the two territories to determine whether or not to permit slavery by a popular vote. The violence involved shocked and troubled the nation. -
Dred Scott Decision
Dred Scott was a Virginia slave who tried to sue for his freedom in court.
The Dred Scott Decision threatened to entirely recast the political landscape that had thus far managed to prevent civil war. The classification of slaves as mere property made the federal government’s authority to regulate the institution much more ambiguous.
Polarization intensified -
Abraham Lincoln Elected
Abraham Lincoln was elected by a considerable margin in 1860 despite not being included on many Southern ballots. On December 20, 1860, a little over a month after the polls closed, South Carolina seceded from the Union.Six more states followed by the spring of 1861 -
Battle of Fort Sumter
On April 12, 1861, Confederate warships turned back the supply convoy to Fort Sumter and opened a 34-hour bombardment on the stronghold. The garrison surrendered on April 14. The Civil War was now underway -
Civil War
The Civil War, also known as “The War Between the States,” was fought between the United States of America and the Confederate States of America, a collection of eleven southern states that left the Union in 1860 and 1861 and formed their own country in order to protect the institution of slavery.
