-
Period: to
The Underground Railroad Part 1
The Underground Railroad did not have an offical start date although it was used most frequently about 10 years before the Civil War. In 1787 a "Quaker" named Isaac T. Hopper began aiding and hiding runaway slaves, although we don't know the exact day he began, March 20 is the first day of spring, which was the best time for runaways to make an escape attempt. Throughout the ten years the Underground Railroad was most used there were a number of people who helped these slaves. -
Period: to
The Underground Railroad Part 2
The movement in which these anti-slavery people began to fight against slavery was known as the "Abolitionist Movement" and the people involved in this movement were known as "Abolitionists". Some examples of abolitionists include William Lloyd Garrison, Harriet Tubman, Harriet Beecher Stowe, David Walker, Levi Coffin, Thomas Garrett, Frederick Douglass, Gerrit Smith, and William Still. Abolitionists helped fight slavery in many different ways -
Period: to
The Underground Railroad Part 3
Some Abolitionists Wrote books, some wrote newspapers, some wrote and gave speeches, however the majority of abolitionists worked on the Underground Railroad as stationmasters(who housed fugitive) and many more roles. At first the Underground Railroad led to northern states, however with "The Compromise of 1850" slave catchers were patrolling this area and could easily capture them. As a result the final destination of the Underground Railroad became Canada. -
The Missouri Compromise Part 1
Also known as the compromise of 1820. The reason this compromise was needed was that Missouri wanted to be admitted into the union as a slave state, however this would upset the balance of free and slave states being represented in the government. The first person to make a suggestion was James Tallmadge, from New York. Tallmadge suggested that Missouri be admitted as a free state so there were 11 free states and 10 slave states, of course the southern representatives did not like this idea. -
The Missouri Compromise Part 2
After much debate congress finally came to a compromise that admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state, this compromise also said all future states north of the 36' 30' longitude latitude line would be free and those south would become slave states this temporarily kept the issue of slavery in our supposedly free country from starting a war. -
Period: to
The Underground Railroad
-
Nat Turner's Rebellion Part 1
On August 22, 1831,in South Ampton County, Virginia: enslaved preacher Nat Turner led a group of 60 or 70 slaves in a rebellion against slave owners in the south. Nat Turner and his fellow rebles killed, not only the Travis family that owned them, but also neighboring white slave owners. At the end of 48 hours the rebles had killed 57 whites, including women and children. The first offical response to the rebellion was to call in the militia, soon the 3,000 troops had captured the rebles. -
Nat Turner's Rebellion Part 2
In prison while waiting execution Nat Turner was interviewed by a local lawyer named Thomas Gray. Mr.Gray would later publish a book known as " The Confessions of Nat Turner " which he claimed was Turner's real final confession. After their slaves were executed for rebelling, slave owners were reimbursed. -
Abolitionist Frederick Douglass
Born in 1818 this man escaped slavery on September 3, 1838 when he was 20 years old. He would later become one of the most famous abolitionists of his time. In 1845 he "immortalized" his years as a slave in his auto-biography, "Narative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave". He wrote an abolitionist newspaper known as the "North Star". He gave many anti-slavery speeches, not only in America, but also in England. -
The Compromise of 1850 Part 1
On 1850 a compromise that dealt with the dispute over slavery in the territory gained from the war with Mexico. This compromise had 5 parts and was written by many people including Henery Clay and Stephen Douglas. One part of this compromise was that the territory of California became a free state. Another part was the abolishing the slave market in Washington D.C. Third Fugitive Slave Act was passed so that slaves found to have runaway were to be returned to their southern "homes". -
The Compromise of 1850 Part 2
Any northerner found to be harboring fugitive slaves would be fined. Fourthly the territories of New Mexico and Utah would decide for themselves whether or not to allow slavery in the area. Finally Texas was forced to take some of its territory and give it over as seperate areas of the union cutting its land mass in half. The northerners did not like this compromise in the slightest and the souterners were pacified in the subject of having "equal rights" to northerners. -
The Kansas-Nebraska Act Part 2
Pushing for the Kansas-Nebraska Territory to gain statehood would not gain Stephen Douglas southern support because according to the Missouri Compromise of 1820, these states would become free states as they were north of the 36' 30' line. To solve this problem Douglas came up with what he thought was a brilliant idea, to allow popular soverignty of the people living in the territories to decide whether or not this area should be slave or free. -
The Kansas-Nebraska Act Part 3
This Suggestion brought outrage from the Northerners and encouregment from the Southerners. When it was passed(during Franklin Pierce's Precidency) Both sides rushed to fill the territory, trying to have it become a state that they wanted. As a result the event known as "Bleeding Kansas" came about and in January of 1861, after the start of the Civil War Kansas was admitted as a slave state. -
The Kansas-Nebraska Act Part 1
An illinois senator named Stephen Douglas was the man who came up with this compromise. As a greedy politican Douglas wanted to run for President, however he also wanted Chicago to benefitfrom the development of western territories, namely to have Kansas and Nebraska to become states and railroads to go through them so that chicago would become a central point of this railroad activity. As he wanted to run for President Douglas would need southern support. -
The Dred Scott Case Part 3
Finally the Supreme Court ruled that the Compromise of 1820 was unconstitutional and the law concerning the 36' 30 north latitude line was void. Thus Dred Scott's case was finally done and he was sent by his owner to live with the people who had first owned him, who set him free. -
Bleeding Kansas
On May 25, 1856 in Lawrence, Kansas a group of southern slavery supporters and a federal marshal who supported their cause burned down the homes and newspaper offices of "Freesoilers", which was the nickname for settlers in the territory who were against slavery. 3 days later, at Pottawatomie, Creek, John Brown and his sons killed five pro-slavery settlers. Over the next 3 months over 200 men would die. -
Bleeding Kansas
While fighting happened out in the territories another kind of violence was happening in the government, shortly after his speech "The Crimes Against Kansas" in which he urged people to join the fight against slavery without creating violence, Senator Charles Sumnter was nearly beat to death by Senator Preston Brooks with a cane. -
The Dred Scott Case Part 2
The Supreme Court had to decide two things, first if Scott was even considered a citizen under the constitution of the United States of America, and second if the Missouri Compromise (Compromise of 1820) was "Constitutional" as it kept people from taking their "property" into other areas of the country. In the end they decided that since the writers of constitution considered black people an inferior race, all "Negros" were not citizens of the United States. -
The Dred Scott Case Part 1
On The Supreme Court ruled against Dred Scott, a slave suing for his freedom. Dred Scott had had two owners before he sued his second owner's wife for his freedom. Scott believed he was a free man because he had been in "free" northern territory when he traveled with his second owner who was an army doctor. This case went first to the Missouri State Court and went through three times before Scott decided to take the case to the Supreme Court. -
Presidential Election of 1860 Part 1
In 1860 there were four candidates running for the office of the President of the United States. First there was the Constituional Union party candidate, John Bell, who was a slave holder and thus was not oppossed to slavery. Second was the Southern Democrat, John Breckinridge who not only supported slavery, but also wanted slavery to expand across the nation. The Northern Democrat candidate was Stephen Douglass, who also supported slavery. -
Presidential Election of 1860 Part 2
Finally came the Republican candidate who would win this election, Abraham Lincoln, who held moderate views on slavery and acknowledged that it was part of the nations profit, using free labor. When the election of 1860 was over Lincoln not only won without a single southern vote, but he also had 180 electoral votes, when he only needed 152. -
Attack on Fort Sumter
On March 12 in 1861 President Abraham Lincoln sent supplies to Fort Sumter in the state of South Carolina, that had "seceded" from the nation. Shortly afterward the "President" of the "Confederate States of America" sent his men to take over the fort. When the fort was lost President Lincoln called for voulenteer troups. This started the Civil War but which side did start it all depended on which side you asked.
