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Green - Alternately called the Ordinance of 1787, this document established a government for the Northwest territory, outlined the process for when admitting a new state to the Union, and guaranteed that any new states would be equal to the original 13 states. This event was political in nature. -
Green - A compromise to settle the dispute about slave and free states. It added Maine to the Union as a free state and Missouri as a slave state. It also created the 36°30′ line. All new states below the line would be added as slave states and all new states above the line would be added as free states. The event was both political and social in nature. -
Red - Nat Turner, a Virginian slave who learned to read while in captivity, led a slave revolt of 75 slaves. Together, they went around Travis Farm and the Virginian South Hampton County murdering 55 white civilians, including women and children. As a result, the white population retaliated by murdering over 200 slave thought to be involved in the revolt. The revolt made whites question slave education and whether or not it was good for slaves to read and write. The revolt was social in nature. -
Green - A law proposed by James Hammond that prevented all members of Congress from discussing topics such as slavery. It was an attempt to stop discussion of abolition in order to to diffuse tensions between the North and the South. It was eventually repealed by John Quincy Adams as he declared it a violation to the 1st Amendment. The rule was political and social in nature. -
Red - A group of 53 slaves were taken captive by Portuguese slave hunters and sent to Cuba. This was illegal at the time and the slaves staged a revolt where they killed the captain and cook and forced two of the sailors to sail to Africa. They instead sailed north and ended up near Long Island NY. The slaves were arrested and charged with murder but the Supreme Court dropped the charges and gave the slaves their freedom. This event was political and social in nature. -
Red - Tensions began to rise between Texans and the Mexican government as they wanted to legalize slavery in Texans but Mexico refused to allow it. Finally, rebellion broke out in 1835 and a year later Texas gained independence. This event was political in nature. -
Red - After the Mexicans refused to sell disputed territories in New Mexico and California, America sent the military into Mexico, declaring war against the country. The war lasted two years and eventually, America forced Mexico to surrender the territories. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo secured not only California and New Mexico as US territories, but the entire southwest was surrendered as well. The war as a whole was political in nature. -
Green - An amendment to the appropriation bill prohibiting slavery in any territory acquired from Mexico. It angered many southerners and enraged sectional tensions. It also was a major development in the creation of the Republican party. This event was political in nature. -
Red - After gold was discovered in Sutter's Mill, thousands of people rushed west in search of gold and prosperity. The sudden boost in population led to calls for California's admission to the Union. Debate arose over whether it was to be a free or slave state. It was eventually admitted as a free state which angered many southerners. This event was economical and political in nature. -
Red - An act which required the North to capture and return any and all escaped slaves. It was punishable by law if anybody refused to follow it but many northerners ignored it as they had anti-slavery views. Thus, the south became very angry, causing tensions to rise more. This event was political and social in nature. -
Red - Proposed by Henry Clay, this compromise replaced the Missouri Compromise. It was split into 5 parts:
Allowed slavery in DC but banned the slave trade in the district
Admitted California as a free state
Utah and Mexico were admitted territories where slavery was decided by popular sovereignty
Declared new boundaries for Texas
Passed the Fugitive Slave Act
It was an effort to lessen the tensions between the North and South but was largely ineffective. The compromise was political in nature. -
Red - An anti-slavery novel published by Harriet Beecher Stowe in response to the tightened fugitive slave laws. It detailed to horrors of slavery and was so widely read that it worsened the ever growing tensions, pushing the Civil War closer to breaking out. The novel was social in nature. -
Red - The Kansas-Nebraska Act was created by Stephen A. Douglas and approved by President Franklin Pierce. It organized the territory for white development and split the territory into two states. Rather than declaring them as slave or free states, they allowed slavery to be decided by popular sovereignty. This act effectively repelled the Missouri Compromise. As a result of the act, bloody violence erupted over slavery known as Bleeding Kansas. The issue was political in nature. -
Red - A private document sent from Belgium which urged the US government to buy Cuba and turn it into a slave state. When it was released to the public, it angered many northerners as they thought the government was trying to add another slave state to the Union. The event was political in nature. -
Red - The Dred Scott Decision was a court ruling in which Supreme Justice Roger Taney ruled that no black man could claim citizenship or take a white man to court/sue him. It was significant as it officially declared slaves as property and stripped them of more rights. The issue was both social and political in nature. -
Red - John Brown and a group of followers known as the Secret Six attacked an seize the US military arsenal at Harpers Ferry. They hoped to incite a slave insurrection and get slaves to help them fight back against the south. However, no slaves joined their cause and Brown was arrested and hanged his actions on the charge of treason. The issue was social in nature. -
Red - An unsuccessful compromise proposed by Senator John J. Cittenden which tried to establish slavery as a part of the US Constitution. If it was passed, it would make the abolition of slavery impossible by declaring doing so unconstitutional. This event was political in nature.