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Missouri Compromise
Henry Clay was a representative from Kentucky who came up with the Missouri Compromise. It admitted Maine as a free state, and Missouri as a slave state. The Missouri Compromise was crafted because disunion was about to take place in America and Clay wanted to keep the nation as one. They drew an imaginary line across the Louisiana Purchase at latitude 36 degrees 30 feet. North of the line slavery was banned, and south of it slavery was allowed. -
Nat Tuner's Rebellion
The Nat Turner Rebellion was a slave revolt against plantation owners who owned slaves. The plantation owners then got a tighter grip on their slaves, During that night many blacks and whites were killed during the revolt. -
Gag Rule
On May 26, 1836 the Gag Rule was passed which prevented any antislavery proposals of even being considered. This rule was passed because in the 1830's many abolitionists swarmed Congress with many antislavery petitions, but Congress told them that they were not permitted to interfere with slavery in the states. -
Wilmot Proviso
The Wilmot Proviso was made by David Wilmot who was a representative for Pennsylvania. He added the admendment known as the Wilmot Proviso, it stated that "neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall ever exist" in any part of the territory. -
California Applied for Admission into the Union as a Free State
In late 1849 California applied for admission into the Union as a free state. Southerners were not too happy about this and rejected California's request. On the other hand, Northerners were more than welcoming when it came to greeting California as a free state. -
Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 just about pleased everyone, it started with adding California to the Union as a free state, which pleased the North. He then continued and allowed the Utah and New Mexico territories to decide whether they wanted slavery to be allowed, and this pleased the South. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin was Published
In 1852 Uncle Tom's Cabin was published as a novel, and written by Harriet Beecher Stowe. The novel made the Northerners even more angry about slavery. No other work had such emotion about slavery than Uncle Tom's Cabin. -
Ostend Manifesto & Kansas-Nebraska Act
The Ostend Manifesto was a message from the diplomats that urged the U.S. government to seize Cuba by force if Spain continued to not sell the island of Cuba to Spain. That same year Douglas's bill known as the Kansas-Nebraska Act created two new territories, Kansas and Nebraska. It abolished the Missouri Compromise, and the states had to decide whether slavery was going to be allowed or banned. -
The Attack on Lawrence, Kansas
The many years of struggling over slavery turned into bloody, and distrurbing violence. Proslavery people invaded Lawrence, Kansas which was the home of the antislavery government, They burned many homes, and hotels. The raid on Lawrence sparked people in the North to raise money to help replace all of the buildings that were destroyed. -
The Dred Scott Case
Dred Scott was an African American slave who traveled with his owner to Wisconsin which was a free state. When he returned to Missouri he went to court to win his freedom and argued that while visiting in Wisconsin he became a free man. -
Republican Party was Born and The Lincoln-Douglass Debates
In the year of 1858 the Republican Party was born, and also the Lincoln-Douglass Debates happened. During this debate Douglass argued that the Dred Scott decision had put the slavery issue to sleep but Lincoln begged to differ. Lincoln said that the real issue was controversy. Lincoln lost the election, but the debates were spread widely and he became known as a national figure. -
John Brown's Raid
John Brown planned to seize the federal arsena (where weapons and ammunition are stored) l at Harpers Ferry in Virginia. He wanted to use the weapons to arm slaves for a rebellion that would surprisingly end slavery. When he fired his raid, all of his men were captured. Afterwards, he was convicted of treason and sent away to his death. -
Lincoln is Elected President and the South Secede from the Union
On November 6, 1860 Lincoln was elected president. Weeks after the election is over, the South secedes from the Union. -
The Civil War Begins in Fort Sumter
On April 12, the Civil War begins in Fort Sumter. -
Violence in Congress
That same year, violence outbroke in Congress. Just days after the speech about "The Crime Against Kansas", a South Carolina Representative named Preston Brooks, beat Sumner with the metal tip of his cane until he became unconscious and bloody. People's reactions to this showed just how divided America has become, it was very upsetting.
