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Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise is an event that saw Missouri admitted to the Union as a slave state and Maine as a free state. This created a relative peace and equality between the North and South. -
Nat Turner's Rebellion
In August 1831, Nat Turner, and opressed slave, led a rebellion through the South killing 55 people. This led many southerners to believe that the slaves were trying to make a huge rebellion fueling slavery even further. -
Wilmot Proviso
The Wilmot Proviso was proposed by David Wilmot who thought that all land acquired from Mexico should be free. This infuriated Southerners because that would totally unbalance the Union. This Proviso was not realized however. -
Compromise of 1850
Henry Clay proposes thst California should enter as a free state, but all other lands gained from Mexico shall be open to slavery. He also wanted a fugitive slave act. Under Fillmore's presidency, some parts of the plan were established in the form of five bills. This plan caused many abolitionists in the North to dislike the Compromise because it led to more slave states and a fugitive slave act. -
Fugitive Slave Act
The Fugitive Slave Act stated that any African American in the North is viable to be captured and reentered into slavery in the south. This infuriated abolitionists because African Americans who were never slaves were abducted into slavery. -
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Kansas-Nebraska Act/Bleeding Kansas
The Kansas-Nebraska Act, proposed by Stephen A. Douglas, stated that newly established territories Kansas and Nebraska should be free states. This angered southerners so they went into Kansas to vote on whether or not it should be a slave state. In May of 1856, several men attacked the town of Lawrence. Abolitionist John Brown retailiated by killing five southerners along Pottowatomie Creek. The conflict ended in October 1856 when federal troops were sent in to end the bloodshed. -
Dred Scott Case
Dred Scott, a free African American from the North was captured by slave hunters. However, he sued for his freedom from court to court with the case eventually landing in the Supreme Court. The court ruled that an enslaved man was property and that Scott was now enslaved. This infuriated abolitionists and caused much political debate in the North and the South. -
John Brown's Raid on Harper's Ferry
John Brown, a fervent abolitionist, raided Harper's Ferry , Virginia. They hoped to gain weapons to arm a slave rebellion and the violence escalated from Oct. 16-19 until federal troops were sent in to end the fight. Some abolitionists honored Brown as a hero but others denounced his violent ways. This caused many Southerners to think war was inevitable. -
Lincoln's Election
Republican candidate Abraham Lincoln is elected as US president over the Democratic candidate John Breckinrage. This causes South Carolina to secede because they knew that the North and South would not coexist if Lincoln is elected. Soon after, all other Southern states secede. -
Battle of Fort Sumter
Confederate forces surround Fort Sumter in Charleston. Lincoln attempts to send supplies to them but Confederate president Jefferson Davis gets wind of it and orders an attack on the Fort. No one is killed but after two days Fort Sumter surrenders. The Civil War has begun.
