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Events leading up to the civil war
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Mexican-American War
The Mexican-American War was fought to expand the land owned by the U.S. The Mexican-American war did not have a direct impact on the U.S. and the cause of the civil war, but the land gained by the war was a driving factor in the cause of the civil war. -
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalago
This was the treaty signed to end the Mexican-American War. The treaty gave the U.S. 525,000 square miles to the country. -
Wilmont Proviso
DISCLAIMER, this proposed bill never did pass, but it did start up talks of secession by Southern states. The Wilmont Proviso proposed that slavery would be outlawed in the land gained by the U.S. in the Mexican-American War. -
The Compromise of 1850
After the drama of the Wilmont Proviso, Henry Clay and Stephen Douglas created the compromise of 1850. From the territory gained in the Mexican-American War, they made California a free state, but in the rest of the territory gained from Mexico, they did not regulate slavery. Also, the Fugitive Slave Act was made stronger. -
Bleeding Kansas
After the Kansas-Nebraska act was passed, the U.S. gave people the right to determine what the state would offer as far as slavery was concerned. Kansas was open to people, and both sides of the slavery topic raced to Kansas to try and get the territory to go one way or another. In the end, Kansas became a free territory where there was no slavery at all. -
Ostend Manifesto
The Ostend Manifesto was written to help the U.S. gain the island of Cuba from Spain. Cuba wanted to be annexed by the U.S., but President Pierce failed to follow through. This purchase would have balanced the slave and the free states, but now there is more tension and division between the two sides. -
Dred Scott Case
Dred Scott was a slave who tried to sue for his freedom. The case went all the way to the Supreme Court and it was ruled that Dred Scott was a piece of property and was owned. It was ruled that he had no legal rights at all. -
The Election of Abraham Lincoln
One of the most well known presidents in U.S. history was elected in 1860. Most of the damage was already done, but Lincoln's election and his tough stance on slavery was a big no no for the southern states. -
South Carolina seceding from the Union
South Carolina was the first state to break away from the Union. This happened about a month after the election of Abraham Lincoln. Many other states followed suit and seceded from the Union in early 1861. -
Battle of Fort Sumter
This was the tipping point, the last straw for the civil war to begin. South Carolina wanted the Union to leave Fort Sumter, which was located in the state. The U.S. opposed and continued to supply the Fort with supplies. South Carolina then attacked the Fort and thus the start of the civil war.
