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Missouri Compromise
The compromise, created by Henry Clay, had three main points. It made Missouri a slave state, Maine a free state, and made an imaginary line of 36°30' in the Louisiana Territory which only allowed slavery south of it. This is one of the many compromises that was made to try to fix the slavery issue without war. It also helped keep the balance between slave and free states. -
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Introduction
The Civil War was the result of failed compromises from 1820 through 1860. These compromises dealt with slavery. There were times when many hoped slavery would just die on its own but instead, it began to expand. The country became extremely divided on its views on slavery. -
Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850, another compromise created by Henry Clay, had four main points. It admitted California to the Union as a free state, it allowed Utah and New Mexico territories to decide whether to allow slaver, stated that slave holders in D.C could keep their slaves but they could no longer be bought or sold in the nation's capital, and it called for a strong fugitive slave law. Because not all points pleased everyone, this is an event that had a part in leading to the Civil War. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
The Kansas-Nebraska Act, passed by the U.S Congress, overturned the Missouri Compromise. This opened the Northern territory to slavery. It also created the Kansas and Nebraska territories. The main question was whether those territories should be slave or free. The South wanted them to be slave, but the North wanted them to be free.This same issue of the South versus North pops up yet again when dealing with the Kansas-Nebraska Act. -
Dred Scott Case
Dred Scott was a slave who spent some time in Wisconsin and tried to sue for his freedom. Of course the Northerners wanted Scott to be able to sue and the Southerners didn't want him to be able to sue, which helped pull the Union apart. Chief Justice Roger Taney, who opposed slavery, delivered the Dred Scott decision. It was decided that because he was not a citizen, he couldn't sue. He also decided that the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional. The decision delighted slaveholders. -
Election of 1860
In 1860, Lincoln won the presidential election. The election showed just how divided the nation had become. The Republicans were unified behind Lincoln. The Northern Democrats were in favor of Stephen Douglas. The Southern Democrats nominated John C. Breckinridge. Lincoln thankfully won the election with an odd victory. Lincoln won with only forty percent of the votes. All of them cast in the North. In ten Southern states, he was not even on the ballot! -
Attack on Fort Sumter
The Civil War began with the attack on Fort Sumter. The Confederate States Army attacked the fort near Charleston in South Carolina. The United States Army returned fire and surrendered in this first battle. Nobody died, but the firing upon the American flag by the Confederates resulted in patriotic fury in the North.
