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Missouri Compromise
This act admitted Maine as a free state to please the North and Missouri as a slave state to please the south. This act also banned slavery north of 36' 30".
This was one of the first things to start tension between the north and south over the issue of slavery. The south didn't like that they were trying to stop slavery from expanding. -
Wilmot Proviso
The Wilmot Proviso was created to stop the expansion of slavery into territory won from Mexico. It passed the House of Representatives but the Southerners prevented it from passing the Senate. Even though it didn't pass it led vto the creation to the Free-Soil Party. This party was dedicated to stopping the expansion of Slavery.
This led for tension to begin to increase. It showed that the north wanted to stop slavery and the south began to worry. -
Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 admitted Califonia as a free state and slave trade would be abolished in Washington D.C to please the North. Then to please the South congress would not pass laws regarding slavery in the territorys won from Mexico,and congress would pass a law to help slave owners catch runaway slaves.
It angered the north because they had to make the moral decision to obey the law and support slavery or not obey the law and not support slavery. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin was a novel that portrayed slavery as brutal and immoral. The book is based on the life of the slave.
The book made the north realize how bad slavery really was. This enraged them and this is when they realized that slavery was a huge problem and it needed to end. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
A bill to organize the Nebraska territory into two states, Kansas and Nebraska. It said that whether Kansas and Nebraska be free or slave states to be decided by popular sovereignty by residents vote to decide the issue. The bill was proposed by Stephen A. Douglas.
The south sent proslavery men from Missouri to vote in the Kansas election illegally to make sure Kansas was a slave state.. This enraged the north and it caused for violence to erupt and Kansas became a battlefield. -
Sack of Lawrence
The Sack of Lawrence was an attack on antislavey settlers in the town of Lawrence. They destroyed offices and the house of the governor of the antislavery government.
This increased tensions between the north and south because the others were horrified by how the other acted so they stooped to their level. -
Pottawatomie Massacre
John Brown led a small group to kill proslave men to avenge the Sack of Lawerence. He they killed 5 men along the Pottawatomie Creek.
This showed how tough tensions had become during this time and this only increased the tension. North saw him as a martyr and south was outraged. -
Dred Scott v. Sanford
The case of Dred Scott v. Sanford was where Scott sued for his freedom saying that his owner took him into states where slavery was prohibited. The ruling in the case was that Dred Scott was not a U.S. citizen so he could not sue in American courts. It also said that slaves were property therefore the Fifth Amendnent states they could not take away property and so it was unconstitutional to ban slavery.
It stated that slaves were property and this angered the Northerners. -
Election of 1860
The results of the Election of 1860 caused the south to believe that Lincoln would abolish slavery even though he assured that he only wanted to stop the expansion of it. This caused the southern states to secede and become the Confederate States of America.
The northerners were outraged saying that they couldn't secede and that they were just mad about Lincoln becoming president. -
South Carolina Secedes
South Carolina was the first state to secede. They said that since they joined the Union voluntarily they could leave voluntarily. This caused the north to say that they were just mad about the election and so they claimed it was unconstitional. Then the other southern states followed to create the Confederate States of America.
This pushed the tension between the north and south to the breaking point. Soon war would begin.
