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Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom was a very scuessful book around the world! -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
Kansas-Nebraska Act was for Stephen A. Douglas to create opportunities for the transcontinental railroad he wanted. Due to the argument against the northern route west of Mississippi, he introduced a bill in January 1854 that would organize a new territory called Nebraska. This would open a white settlement in an Indian populated area. -
Dred Scott decision
Dred Scott was a slave who sued his master's widow for his freedom. His owner took him to Illinois and Wisconsin, both free states. There, his owner died, and he demanded that he be free. He took this to the Supreme Court, and Chief Justice Roger Taney ruled that Scott could not bring a suit into the federal court because he was not a citizen, but private property. He referenced the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution, and concluded that Congress did not have the authority to pass a law deprivin -
Lecompton crisis
Proslavery forces in Kansas resorted to electoral fraud to secure a convention to draft a slave state constitution. Under Buchanan's endorsement, the Senate voted to admit Kansas as a slave state. But this constitution died in the House of Representatives. Finally, Congress approved a compromise: the Lecompton constitution would be submitted to the voters of Kansas once more. If it was approved, Kansas would be admitted to the Union and if it was rejected, statehood would be postponed. Once agai -
Lincoln-Douglas debates
In 1858, an election for the senate of Illinois took place between Stephen A. Douglas, the most prominent Democrat, and Abraham Lincoln, an unknown but skillful politician in the Republican Party. By participating in these debates, Lincoln had increased his visibility and popularity as an eloquent and passionate speaker, especially over the issue of slavery. These debates had attracted enormous crowds and widespread attention, and Lincoln became nationally prominent. -
John Brown's raid at Harper's Ferry
John Brown was an antislavery zealot whose bloody riots in Kansas gained him infamy in the South. After elaborate planning, he and his other abolitionist followers seized control of a United States arsenal in Harper's Ferry, Virginia. He hoped the slave uprising would inspire others, but instead he found himself in trouble. After 10 of his followers were killed, he was surrounded by the local militia and surrendered. In the Virginia court, he and six other were found guilty and were sentenced t -
Election of 1860; Abraham Lincoln
The election of 1860 was one of the most momentous and complex elections in the history of America. It also set the stage for the Civil War. The Democrat Party was in disarray because of the disputes between the southerners and westerners. The southerners wanted to endorse slavery while the westerners wanted the idea of popular sovereignty. -
The secession crisis
What happened was several southern states seceded from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America. These events led to the Civil War. South Carolina seceded first. It called a convention which voted unanimously to withdraw the state from the Union. Afterwards, by the time Lincoln took office, six other states seceded: Mississippi(January 9, 1861), Florida(January 10), Alabama(January 11), Georgia(January 19), Louisiana(January 26), and Texas(February 1). In February 1861, rep -
Compromise of 1850
Tempers were rising from sectional conflict over slavery in territories. As a result, moderates and unionists framed the Compromise of 1850. Henry Clay's proposition was defeated by Congress, so the cast of old and young intellectuals came up with 5 separate laws that constitute this compromise. -
Fugitive Slave Act
Fugitive Slave Act was passed in the Compromise of 1850. It declared that all runaway slaves be brought back to their owners/masters
