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Missouri Compromise
The law that settled whether or not Missouri would be considered a slave state or not. It said that every state above a certain point would be a free state and everything below it would be a slave state. This was a temporary fix. -
Wilmot Proviso
A bill that wasn't actually passed. It wanted any land that the USA got from Mexico to be against slavery. This made the south very unhappy. -
Fugitive Slave Act
This law required people to catch runaway slaves. This law made the north very mad. It also caused the people who had slaves to tighten the restrictions of slaves. -
Compromise of 1850
Another temporary solution that stated California, New Mexico, and the city of Washington D.C. would be free states, or against the use of slaves. This also made the south unhappy. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
A fictional story about the truth of slavery. It shocked many people. It also changed many people's minds about slavery. This book also gave the north a motive to abolish slavery. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
The law that allowed the settlers who were moving to the territory of a new state to vote on whether or not the state would be free. This only applied to two states and it caused violence and unbalance. -
Bleeding Kansas
The first real act of violence over slavery. 800 slavery supposrters attack the antislavery capitol, Lawrence. This battle killed 2,000 people. -
Dred Scott Decision
A court case of a slave man because he wanted to be free from slavery and sure his previous owners. The case eventually went to the Supreme Court. Slaves were not even considered citizens. -
Lincoln-Douglas Debates
The presidental debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas. Their main fight was slavery. The debates were all over Illinois, mainly. They both wanted to be in the senate. The debates challenged the idea of a civil war. This was the south's introduction to Abraham Lincoln, and they didn't like it. -
Raid On Harper's Ferry
A guy named John Brown brought a 22 man army to attack slave owners in the south. The plan was changed quite a bit. The battle inspired many people. The remaining soldiers were tried and executed. -
Lincoln Elected
Abe Lincoln was elected as president even though his name wasn't even on the ballad in some southern states. He won the race. This pushed the south towards seccession. -
SC Secedes
The south had the threat of breaking off from the union and they were the first to vote on seceding. Not long after, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida and Georgia also seceeded. The secession concerned a lot of the members in the union. This finally influenced war.