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Northwest Ordinance
The Northwest Ordinance passed in 1787 prohibited slavery in the territory East of the Mississippi River and North of the Ohio River. -
3/5ths Compromise
Congress agrees to count 3/5ths of a slave when counting a state's population. -
Fugitive Slave Law
The first fugitive slave law is passed denying a trial by jury to a captured fugitive slave and authorizes any judge to decide their fate. -
Eli Whitney patents the Cotton 'gin
Eli Whitney, a slave, patents the cotton 'gin; this is a machine that removes the seeds from cotton. It tripled the production of cotton in the United States. Before the invent of this, slavery was on the decline. -
Virgina and Kentucky Resolutions
Created in opposition of the Alien and Sedition Acts, this denounced them as unconstitutional and asserts states rights to reject federal laws. -
Louisiana Purchase
With this expansion of the United States Westward, the first questions about the future of slavery are raised. -
Missouri Compromise
This compromise allowed for no restriction on slavery in Missouri, but the institution's prohibition from Louisiana Territory north of 36º30' latitude. -
William Lloyd Garrison begins publishing The Liberator
William Lloyd Garrison, an abolitionist in Massachusetts, began publishing the most controversial radical abolitionist newspaper, The Liberator. -
Nat Turner Rebellion
The Nat Turner Rebellion was a rebellion in Virgina led by slave Nat Turner. This revolt is known as the bloodiest slave revolt in United States History. -
Nullification Ordinance
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Texas War of Independence
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Gag Rule
This law tabled all antislavery petitions, prohibited their publication, and censored any discussion of them on the floor of congress. -
Michigan becomes the twenty sixth state
Michigan and entered the Union as a free state. -
Elijah P. Lovejoy murder
Elijah P. Lovejoy, an abolitionist printer, was murdered in Alton, Illinois and his printing press was thrown in the river. He had been calling for an end to slavery. He becomes one of the first martyrs for the antislavery cause. -
Adams repeals gag rule
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Florida becomes the twenty seventh state
Florida entered the Union as a slave state. -
Texas becomes the twenty eighth state
Texas entered the union as a slave state. -
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Mexican-American War
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Wilmot Proviso
The Wilmot Proviso was a suggestion to congress that slavery be disallowed in the new territory won from Mexico. This suggestion fails the senate because of fear that it would disrupt the balance between slave states and free states. -
Iowa becomes the twenty-ninth state
Iowa entered the union as a free state. -
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
Mexico agreed to cede California, Nevada, Utah, most of New Mexico and Arizona, and the disputed regions of Texas to the United States and agreed that the border is at the Rio Grande. -
Wisconsin becomes the thirtieth state
Wisconsin entered the union as a free state. -
Free-soil Party formed
This party was created in response to Westward expansion. They opposed the expansion of slavery into the newly acquired western territories. The party platform also calld for the federal government to provide free land to settlers in the West. -
Harriet Tubman escapes from slavery in Maryland
Harriet Tubman then began working with the underground railroad to free more than 300 slaves. -
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Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 effectively allowed California to enter the union as a free state, the territories of New Mexico and Utah to be organized with no restrictions on slavery, abolished the slave trade in DC, and created a harsher Fugitive Slave Act of 1793. -
California becomes the thirty-first state
California enters the union as a free state as a part of the Compromise of 1850. -
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Harriet Beecher Stowe publishes Uncle Tom's Cabin in The National Era
The National Era, an abolitionist periodical, startted publishing Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin as a 40 week periodical starting June 5, 1851. This book helped to spark abolitionist sentiment in both the North and South. -
The Kansas-Nebraska Act
The Kansas-Nebraska Act passed congress and overturned the Missouri Compromise, allowing the settlers of the territory to decide as a whole whether they would allow or disallow slavery. Both sides began to send settlers into the areas in an effort to influence the future status of these areas. -
Bleeding Kansas
As sanctioned by the Kansas-Nebraska acts, Kansas prepared to vote in elections. Thousands of outsiders from Missouri entered the territory in an effort to influence the election. This incident included the Lecompton/Topeka problem, separate elections and constant and violent attacks. -
Brooks-Sumner Incident
Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner delivered a speech attacking slavery supporters in the Senate, singling out Senator Andrew Butler of South Carolina. South Carolina Representative Preston Brooks, Butler's nephew, attacked Sumner on the Senate floor, beating him with a cane. This incident represents growing tension and violence nationwide -
Tariff of 1857
Congress passed the Tariff of 1857, lowering rates to the lowest level since 1812. This is very unpopular in the North and praised in the South. -
Dred Scott Decision
In the Scott v. Sandford ruling, Judge Taney asserted that blacks are not U.S. citizens and are property, and slaveholders have the right to take existing slaves into free areas of the county. -
Minnesota becones the thirty-second state
Minnesota enters the union as a free state. -
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Lincoln–Douglas debates
In this series of debates between Lincoln and Douglas for the Illinois senate, previewed the issues that Lincoln would later face in his presidency about slavery. -
Oregon becomes the thirty-third state
Oregon enters the union as a free state. -
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John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry
John Brown, a radical free stater, attacked Harpers Ferry, Virginia. Robert E. Lee led the troops and captured Brown, leading to him being hanged. -
Abraham Lincoln elected
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South Carolina secedes from the union