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The Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise was a law passed by the U.S. Congress that admitted Missouri to the union as a slave state, and Maine as a free state. It also banned slavery from the remaining Louisiana Purchase lands located north. The Missouri Compromise marked the beginning of sectional conflicts over slavery that led to the Civil War. -
Nat Turner’s Rebellion
A slave named Nat Turner incited an uprising that spread through several plantations in southern Virginia. Turner and approximately 70 groups of slaves killed around 60 white people. After 2 days they were stopped by the militia. Nat’s Rebellion destroyed the myth that slaves were happy, inspired the Virginia slave debate, and Forced the nation to confront slavery. -
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The Wilmot Previso
The Wilmot Proviso was a piece of legislation proposed by David Wilmot at the end of the Mexican-American War. If It passed, the Proviso would have outlawed slavery in territory acquired by the United States as a result of the war, which included most of the Southwest and extended all the way to California. -
The Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 consists of five laws. The laws admitted California as a free state and did not regulate slavery in the remainder of the Mexican surrender all while strengthening the Fugitive Slave Act, a law which compelled Northerners to seize and return escaped slaves to the South. The Compromise prevented the union from splitting for a bit but the Civil War Still happened. -
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Bleeding Kansas
Bloody Kansas was a series of violent events in Kansas. It was between pro- and anti- slavery people. It is the residents of the territories who decide by popular referendum if the state is to be a free or enslaved. Settlers from the North and the South poured into Kansas, hoping to swell the numbers on their side of the debate. It helped cause the civil war because the government got involved and created political crisis which made both parties madder at each other. -
Dred Scott vs. Stanford
Dred Scott was a Virginia slave who tried to sue for his freedom in court. The case eventually rose to the level of the Supreme Court, where the justices found that, as a slave, Dred Scott was a piece of property that had none of the legal rights afforded to a human being. The Dred Scott Decision threatened to demolish the political landscape that had so far managed to prevent the civil war. -
Lincoln-Douglas Debates
In 1858, Democratic Senator Stephen Douglas faced Abraham Lincoln for a place as a congressman. In the campaign, Lincoln and Douglas engaged in seven public debates across the state of Illinois where they debated the most controversial issue of the antebellum era: slavery. Although Douglas won the senate race, these debates propelled Lincoln to the national spotlight and enabled his nomination for president in 1860. Their argue with right and wrong lead to the possibility of a Civil War. -
John Brown’s raid
Abolitionist John Brown supported violent action against the South to end slavery and played a major role in starting the Civil War. In October 1859, he and 19 supporters, armed with “Beecher’s Bibles,” led a raid on the federal armory and arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia. -
Abraham Lincoln’s Election
Abraham Lincoln was elected by a considerable margin in 1860 despite not being included on many Southern ballots. As a Republican, his party’s anti-slavery outlook struck fear into many Southerners. The southerners did not like Lincoln’s decision to ban slavery so they wanted to be a separate country, this started the civil war. -
The Battle of Fort Sumpter
With several federal forts, including Fort Sumter in South Carolina, They suddenly became outposts in a foreign land. On April 12, 1861, Confederate warships turned back the supply convoy to Fort Sumter and opened a 34-hour bombardment on the stronghold. The Civil War was now underway.
