-
Missouri Compromise
Missouri became a slave state, and Maine came a free state. Anything below 36˙ 30˙ N became a slave state, and everything above that line became a free state. This temporarily settled the argument of where slavery would be allowed. Not a long- term solution to the debate. -
Wilmot Proviso
Prohibited slavery in land that the U.S. got from Mexico (California, New Mexico, and Texas). They wanted to make it free even though it was below the line of 36˙ 30˙ N. People who lived in the South were furious because they wanted to spread their idea of slavery. -
Compromise of 1850
Washington D.C. would not allow more slaves to be bought, sold, or traded in California and New Mexico. More states would be added to each side (free states and slave states). This was another temporary solution that started a sensitive debate. -
Fugitive Slave Law
This law required all U.S.A. citizens to capture slaves who escaped. Anybody who helped a slave escape from a plantation or his or her "job" would be imprisoned. This made the North mad, and some people did turn in slaves. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote a book called Uncle Tom's cabin, it was about slavery and how the slaves were treated. This shocked people in the North, and they were willing to fight after reading this book, many people read this book. -
Kansas/Nebraska Act
The Kansas Nebraska Act allowed people to move to the new states to decide if the state would be a free state or a slave state, anybody could go. Many people felt that it remade the Missouri Compromise because the line of 36˙ 30˙ didn't matter anymore. -
Bleeding Kansas
When Kansas was added to the U.S, as a state people who supported and discouraged slavery moved there. They moved to vote if Kansas would become a free or slave state. Violence broke out and lasted for several years. In the end Kansas became a free state. This was the first violent act over slavery. -
The Dread Scott Decision
A court case involving a slave being moved with their owner to a free state and then went back to a slave state. The question was: Was Dread Scott sill a slave? The case went all the way up to the Supreme Court; they decided that he would still be a slave. This played a role in leading all slaves to freedom. -
Lincoln- Douglas Debates
Stephen Douglas and Abraham Lincoln fought in debates for a spot in the Senate for Illinois. The main topic discussed was slavery. Lincoln ended up losing. The South thought of Lincoln as a threat to their movement of slavery. They started to fear Lincoln; glad he didn't get elected to Senate. -
John Brown's Raid
John Brown was an abolitionist, which means that he was against slavery, he took the federal arsenal. They also attacked slave owners and held them captive. Everybody but five men who were with John brown were executed for their actions, Brown was hung. -
Licoln elected/ Election of 1860
Lincoln's name wasn't provided on many of the Southern states ballots, but he still won the election. This act pushed the South to consider secession (to break off from the Union and become their own country). Led to the assassination of Lincoln. -
Secession of South Carolina
The state voted, and chose to leave the union, soon after Lincoln was elected. It was the first state to secede from the Union, six states followed later. President Lincoln wanted to preserve the Union, so he chose to head to war to save the country.