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The war began in 1846 between the US and Mexico mainly because of the annexation of Texas. The war became a turning point as the US became a transcontinental power. New gained territories caused the US to discus how slavery would spread across the country. The US invading Mexico also revisited the debate about slavery laws out West. These factors made this war a good starting point for the road to Civil War, causing so much discussion and conflict surrounding slavery.(Real Time History, 2025)
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Democrats claimed the party was an upbringing of old federalism and abolitionism. Free-Soilers were focusing on stopping the expansion of slavery, not bringing an immediate abolition. They did not promote full racial equality but they strongly opposed slavery because of their morals. The movement was critical leading into the Civil War as it showed the moment that the Anti-Slavery Movement was strong enough to reshape politics. (Varon, 201-205) -
The set of 5 laws was signed after being proposed in January, 1850. The compromise solved the issue of California wanting to become a state. The US had to maintain the balance between the amount of free/slave states. Fugitive Slave Law was revisited, causing extra conflict. The country also introduced popular sovereignty to ease the slavery tensions after California became a free state. The bill was supposed to keep the Union together, but ended up increasing political tensions.(McPherson 70-71) -
A book written by Harriet Beecher Stowe and that came out chapter by chapter in the newspaper. The book contained various different stories from several run-away slaves that were pieced and put together. The book all together shed slavery in an awful light. The book fueled the widespread opposition to slavery in the North and therefor escalated the resent in the South towards the North because of the way they portrayed the South's way of life and their society. (McPherson 109-110) -
A time period of immense violence in the Kansas territory as pro-slavers and anti-slavers fought to determine if Kansas would be free or not. Kansas would either enter the Union as a free state or a slave state. This event was critical and it showed how the compromises over slavery across the country were beginning to fall apart. The violence began after a Senator allowed Kansas and Nebraska to decide their policies on slavery based on popular sovereignty. (Varon, 267)
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The Kansas-Nebraska Act repealed the Missouri Compromise and attempted to open the West to slavery. It introduced the idea of popular sovereignty. This started a violent array of events in Kansas. A great number of protests against the act emerged in 1854 throughout the North. The debates over the Act, as well as the organization of the Republican party and the 1856 presidential campaign, together all lead to a rise of a new generation of leaders including Abraham Lincoln. (Locke Wright, 2023) -
The caning of Senator Sumner began to display how the debates over slavery had quickly turned violent. Sumner's speech "The Crime Against Kansas" where he called out proslavery leaders led to such violence against him. Congressman Preston Brooks beat him unconscious in the Senate chamber with a cane. The assault could be directly tied to the Kansas-Nebraska Act and showed how there was a complete end to the idea of political compromise before the Civil War even started. (Varon 268-269) -
Hinton Helpers book "The Impending Crisis of the South" was written in 1857 and widely released in 1859. The book strongly called out slavery in the South stating how it hurt the economy greatly. The text called for an end of slavery. As a result, leaders of the South condemned the book. At the same time Republicans of the North praised the book. This was important to the lead up of the war as it deepened tensions between the North and the South regarding slavery. (Helper, 1857)
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The Wide-Awake Movement was a large and youth-led political organization that supported Lincoln. They used uniforms, lanterns and torchlit marches in order to rally support against slavery and for Lincoln. The group would come together in cities and march in support of the Republican Party and Lincoln. The organization started in Hartford but spread across the North. The movement all together showed how divided the nation was pre-Civil War. (McPherson, 221), (Lincoln Memorial Shrine, 2016) -
South Carolina seceded after the election of Lincoln. The state claimed that the federal government was not protecting slavery anymore and that the North was in violation of the Constitution. Delegates of South Caroline voted 169-0 to leave the Union. They named slavery as the sole cause. This lead to more Southern states following their actions: MS, FL, AL, GA, LA, and TX . These events were a direct build up to the battle of Fort Sumter and the start of the Civil War. (Edwards Lash, 2022)