Timeline

By jms91206
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    The Nation Breaking Apart Timeline

  • Wilmot Proviso

    This bill aimed to outlaw slavery in territories gained from the War with Mexico. The bill passed in the House of Representatives but was defeated in the Senate, thus causing a division in Congress. Although not a success, it led to the founding of the Free Soil Party, a party working to abolish slavery.

  • The Compromise of 1850

    THis Compromise was proposed to please both the North and the South on adding California as a state. To please the North, California would be admited as a free state and slave trade would be stopped in DC. To please the South, slavery would not be abolished in territories won from Mexico, and laws would be passed to help slaveholders recapture runaway slaves.

  • The Kansas-Nebraka Act

    This Act was a law to divide the Nebraska Territory into the Kansas and Nebraksa territories. They were passed to organize them. It overturned the Missouri Compromise and caused violence in Kansas, know as Bleeding Kansas.

  • The Caning of Sumner

    In the Senate, Charles Sumner gave a speech attaking proslavery forces in Kansas and making fun of A. P. Butler, a slavery supporter. A relative of Butler, Preston Brooks, later attacked Sumner in the Senate, beating him with his cane until it broke. The Southerners cheered for Brooks' defense of slavery

  • Dred Scott vs. Sandford

    Dred Scott was a slave who tried to sue for his freedom after his owner died. He claimed he was free because he had lived in a state where slavery was illegal. When the case reached Supreme Court, justice Roger B. Taney ruled against Scott stating that he was not a US citizen, so he couldn't sue. Also that Scott was bound by Missouri's slave code because he lived there. The case resulted in the denied citizenship of African Americans, and slavery could spread anywhere in US territories.

  • Brown Attacks Harpers Ferry

    John Brown was an extreme abolitionist who had killed proslavery supporters. He wanted to inspire slaves to fight for their freedom. He was planning to capture the US arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia. When Brown captured the arsenal, they killed four people and then sent word to rally slaves, but no slaves joined the fight. Brown was captured and tried for murder and treason, He was convicted and hanged, Northerners saluted him and cheered for him, the Southerners were enraged and horrified.

  • The Election of 1860

    Abraham Lincoln was running for presidency in 1860. He wins in the North and John Breckenridge had the South's support. Lincoln won the most electorial and popular votes, and wins the election. The Southerners view the Republican victory as a threat to their way of life. They believed that Lincoln would abolish slavery, even though he said he wouldn't.

  • Southern States Secede

    After Lincoln won the Election of 1860, South Carolina seceded, followed by six other Southern states. They feared Lincoln would abolish slavery. The formed the Confederate States of America, claimed it was their right to leave since they had voluntarily joined the Union.