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Missouri Compromise
An agreement proposed by Henry Clay that allowed Missouri to enter the Union as a slave state and Maine as a free state. No slavery was allowed north of Missouri's southern border. -
Compromise of 1850
Allowed California to enter as a free state, divided the rest of the Mexican cession into two territories where slavery would be decided by popular sovereignty. -
Fugitive Slave Act
Law that made it a crime to help a runaway slave. It also made it legal to arrest escaped slaves that live in free states, and then have them returned to their slaveholder. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
A law that allowed voters that lived in Kansas and Nebraska to vote on wheteher they wanted to be a free or slave state. -
"Bleeding Kansas"
Abolitionists and pro-slavery forces clashed in Kansas and many people were killed. There was a meeting to see which of Kansas' two separate governments was legitimate, but nothing was accomplished. -
Dred Scott Decision
A slave moved to a free state with his master and when the master died, the slave sued for his freedom. The verdict was that an African American slave couldn't press charges, because they aren't considered citizens of the United States. -
Raid on Harper's Ferry
John Brown took over an arsenal to distribute weapons and begin a slave rebellion. Very few slaves showed up, and Brown and his men were killed for the crimes they committed. -
Lincoln's Election
Lincoln won the eletion in the electoral college, but did not win by popular vote. His opponents were Breckenridge and Bell. He became president because of his support against introducing slavery in the acquired Western lands. Lincoln wanted to keep slavery in the South.
