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The Missouri Compromise
This was a temporary solution to expanding slavery that divided the territory acquired through the Louisiana Purchase at the latitude 36° 30’. With the exception of Missouri, which was already a slave state, all territory above this line was prohibited slavery. The Missouri Compromise exhibits the start of the growing sectionalism between the North and the South. -
The U.S. – Mexican War
President James K. Polk wants to acquire California, New Mexico, and part of Texas from Mexico. However, when Mexico refuses to sell him the land, he determines to take the land by force, and eventually war breaks out between the U.S. and Mexico. Northerners were afraid that southerners would use the war to expand slavery below the 36° 30’ line, as the U.S. got a huge section of land through the resulting Treaty of Guadalupe -
The Wilmot Proviso
David Wilmot, a congressman from Pennsylvania, tried to pass a law which prohibited slavery from all the territory received from Mexico. The bill managed to pass the House of Representatives, but it was stopped in the Senate because of the equal number of slave and free states (15 and 15) in 1849. This allowed senators from the southern, slave states to block anything proposed that was against slavery. They were afraid that should the north get control of the senate, slavery would be abolishe -
The Fugitive Slave Act
The Compromise of 1850 was proposed and part of it was the Fugitive Slave Act, which made it easier for southerners to retrieve run-away slaves from the north. This law angered many northerners, as the special commissioner that was supposed to determine if an accused black person was really a slave could double his money by declaring that person a slave. -
The Republican Party
Northerners form the Republican Party in Ripon, Wisconsin. This further seperated the North from the South, as the new party did not want to allow slavery to spread further. -
The Kansas-Nebraska Act
It repealed the prohibition of slavery north of the 36° 30' line from the Missouri Compromise and introduced the idea of Senator Stephen Douglas, popular sovereignty. This allowed the people to vote to decide if their state would become a free or a slave state. This issue divided both the Whigs and the Democrats (northern Democrats were against it), which led to the creation of the Republican Party. -
Breakdown of the Two-party System
In response to the formation of the Republican Party, the Democratic Party becomes more southern, Eventually, the two-party system breaks down. As a result of this, the North and the South no longer work together in trying compromise. Instead, candidates for both parties become more radical in their positions on slavery. -
Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts is Beaten
After delivering a speech against slavery, Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts is beaten with a cane by Congressman Preston Brooks of South Carolina. The event horrified the North; however, Southerners congratulated Brooks and sent him more canes, telling him to beat Sumner again. This event showed how the Union was falling apart, as even the most civilized of people were resorting to violence. -
Bleeding Kansas
Kansas attempts popular sovereignty for the first time, leading to Bleeding Kansas, where pro-slavery Missourians entered Kansas to pressure people into voting for slavery. In response to this, abolitionists from the North came to Kansas, resulting eventually in the death of hundreds. Because of Bleeding Kansas, compromise over slavery between the North and the South was no longer an option. -
Supreme Court: Dred Scott
The Supreme Court, which at this time is dominated by southerners, decides in the Dred Scott case that Congress cannot prohibit slavery in any territory, which went against the Missouri Compromise and the Kansas-Nebraska Act. This decision confirmed the northerner's fears that the southerners would use their powers within the government to legalize slavery everywhere. This pushed northerners to join the Republican Party, further separating the North and South. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Harriett Beecher Stowe's novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin, written in 1852 has become a best-seller by 1858. Because of this anti-slavery book, Northerners become aware of just how cruel slavery really is, while Southerners burn it and punish those found with it. They insist that it is an unfair and inaccurate description of slavery. This book succeeds in making both the North and South madder over the issue of slavery. -
Lincoln and Douglas' Debate
Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas debate in the 1858 Illinois election. Douglas continues to support popular sovereignty, while Lincoln argues that the US cannot continue to be half free and half slave and survive, foreshadowing the conflict that will result over the dividing issue of slavery. -
John Brown
Northerner John Brown tries and fails to start a slave revolt in Harper's Ferry, Virginia, confirming the southerner's suspicions that the northerners were radical enough to try to get slaves to murder their masters. -
1860 Presidential Election
Clearly sectional candidates Lincoln (anti-slavery Republicans) and Breckinridge (pro-slavery southern Democrats) are the leading candidates of the election. The Republicans eventually win because of greater population, confirming the South's worst nightmare: the North has control. The result of this election leads to the South's decision to secede from the Union. -
The Crittenden Compromise
This is a last attempt to compromise by returning back to the ideas of the Missouri Compromise (slavery prohibited above the 36° 30' line). However, it fails to pass when the North rejects it (the South accepts). This shows southerners that the North is beyond compromising. -
Fort Sumter
By February of 1861, seven states from the Lower South secede from the Union. When Lincoln takes office in April, federal forts and possessions in those states must be handed over. One fort in the Charleston harbor refused to do this peacefully and attacked Fort Sumter (four more states from the Upper South seceded after this) while the North was trying to send supplies to the fort. Lincoln had warned the South not to attack, or it would face war. Because of this, he prepared to fight.
