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Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise was an agreement meant to settle the slavery issue that forbade slavery above the latitude of 36 degrees, 30 minutes, with the exception of Missouri as the only slave state North of it. Although it was meant to be a permanent solution for slavery, it lasted less than 35 years. -
War with Mexico
With the goal of taking Texas, New Mexico, and California, President James K. Polk began the Mexican American war with "manifest destiny" in mind, Northerners rightly thought of the war as an attempt to get more slave territory when the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo gave the U.S. a large amount of slave territory below the 36/30 line. -
Wilmot's Proviso
Wilmot's Proviso was a law proposed by David Wilmot to Congress with the purpose of banning slavery in the aquired territory from Mexico. It passed in the House of Representatives, butsouthern senators would not let it pass because with 15 free and 15 slave states, they would fight anything that could destroy the institution of slavery. Southerners thought that if the North got the senate, slavery would be abolished. This was key in ruining the North/ South relationship. -
Fugitive Slave Act
The Fugitive Slave Act was part of the Compromise of 1850 that allowed and encouraged slave holders tp find and retrieve their run-away slaves in the North. Northerners disagreed and were disturbed by the act of forcing free people back into slavery. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Harriet Beecher Stowe's anti-slavery book angered both sides of the slavery issue. Northerners were angry because it showed how terrible slavery really was, and Southerners were angry because they felt it was an unfair and innaccurate depiction of slavery. -
Formation of the Republican Party
The Republican party began in Ripon, Wisconsin as a pary of the north that proposed the restriction of slavery in all territories. Sotherners saw this almost as a declaration of war. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
The Kansas - Nebraska Act repealed the Missouri Compromise by allowing popular sovereignty, meaning the territories could decide by popular vote if slavery should be allowed or not. No other law did as much to divide the whigs as well as the Northern Democrats, who eventually joined together to form a Republican party -
The Breakdown of the Two-Party System
The Democrat party began to represent the beliefs of the south as the Republican party emerged. The two party system had promoted compromise, and this breakdown ended cooperation between the north and south. Since many candidates ran unopposed in their parties, they became very radical with their ideas on slavery. -
Bleeding Kansas and Sack of Lawrence
Bleeding Kansas is the term for a series of violence in the Kansas Terrirory from 1854-1858. Pro and Ani slavery activists violenty attacked and murdered each other during this time, making a compromise between the North and South virtually impossible. The Sack of Lawrence was just one of the many attacks, this one specifically being the destruction of an anti-slavery center in Lawrence. -
Conressman Preston Brooks of South Caroliona beat Charles Sumner of Massachusetts with a Cane
A southern congressman, Brooks, beat Sumner, a Northern congressman, with a cane after Sumner delivered a speach that attacked slavery as well as Brooks' uncle. Each became a hero in their sections of the country, but it caused even more anger between North and South because the "civilized" people who were supposed to create and maintain civilization were even becoming violent over the issue. -
Dred Scott Decision
The Supreme court ruled that congress couldn't restrict slavery in any terriritory, which nullified the Kansas/Nebraska Act and Missouri Compromise, and the North feared that slavery would be legalized everywhere. The court stated that states could't interfere with federal law, such as recapture of runaway slaves. -
Lincoln and Douglas Debate
Lincoln Argued that the u.S. could no longer stay divided (half slave and half free) while Douglas argued for popular sovereignty. This angers the south, who sees Lincoln's speech as a threat. -
John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry
Northerner John Brown's plan to start a slave revolt failed, but Southerner's fears that the north was trying to arm slaves was confirmed. The south now believed that they could not live safely in the union. -
1860 Presidential Election
The southern democrats who supported slavery had Beckinridge as their candidate, and Lincoln, the anti-slavery Northern abolitionist, ran against him. Lincold won the presidency, and this made southern fears come true. The Federal Government was mostly controled by men who wanted to end slavery. -
Fort Sumter
After eleven southern states had seceded from the Union, Lincoln attempted to resupply Fort Sumter, and as long as the south didnt try to prevent this, there would be no war. The south decided not to appear as cowardly and attacked the fort, thus beginning the battle of the four year civil war. -
The Crittenden Compromise
This was the last effort to bring peace between the feuding sections of the country, as it brought back many of the same rulings as were made in the Missouri Compromise, with slavery allowed only south of the 36/30 line. Southerners accepted this because it would create new slave states, but the law did not pass because the North rejected it, as they did not want the expansion of slavery.
