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The Northwest Ordinance was when the Northwest territories banned slavery in the new land north of the Ohio river. This event was important because it restricted the spread of slavery which means there are now a lot more free states then slave states. -
The fugitive Slave Act is when all of the runaway slaves had to go back to their masters. This was important to the start of the civil war because it increased the north's opinion on anti-slavery. -
The invention of the cotton gin made getting seeds out of cotton a lot easier. This was important to the start of the civil war because it increased the demand for raw cotton, which meant that more slaves were needed to pick more cotton. -
The Ban on Slave Importation banned legal importation of slaves into the U.S. from Africa. This was important because it didn’t end slavery in the U.S. but instead increased demand for slaves already in the U.S. -
The Missouri compromise was when Missouri became a slave state, and Maine became a free state. It was important to the start of the civil war because it established power in congress, and made the expansion of slavery more regular. -
The Nat Turner Rebellion was the uprising of enslaved people led by Nat Turner in Southampton County, in Virginia. This resulted in the death of about 60 white citizens. This was important because the revolt terrified Southern slave owners, leading to new slave codes. -
The South Carolina Nullification Crisis was when South Carolina declared tariffs void, and threatened to secede if the government wanted to collect the duties by force. This is important to the start of the civil war because it established the problems that one single state could start, if they threatened to secede. -
The Underground Railroad was an informal network of safe houses that helped thousands of slaves escape to freedom in the North. This was important to the start of the civil war because it made the conflict between north and South more intense. -
The treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ended the Mexican-American war. Because of this, America got a lot of new land, along with the expansion of slavery out west. -
The compromise of 1850 made California a state, and also made the Utah and New Mexico territories. This is important and a cause of the civil war because it strengthened the Fugitive Slave Act, which makes everybody find slaves that escaped and bring them back. -
Uncle Tim’s Cabin was a novel published by Harriet Beecher Stowe, who wrote about the reality of slavery, and how bad it was for enslaved people. This event was important to the start of the Civil War because it increased anti-slavery in the North by a lot. -
The Kansas-Nebraska Act took away the line of the Missouri Compromise and allowed settlers to move into the Kansas and Nebraska territories. This event was important to the start of the Civil War because it got rid of the Missouri Compromise line, and directly led to people struggling to control the territories. -
Bleeding Kansas was a violent act in the Kansas Territory with people who wanted slavery and people who were against slavery. This is important to the start of the Civil war, because it became a mini war, because people were killing each other over Kansas being a free or slave state. -
The Senator of Massachusetts Charles Sumner, was beaten unconscious on the floor by Representative Preston Brooks, after Sumner delivered an anti-slavery speech. This is important because it showed what people would do if they didn't get their way, or someone spoke their mind about slavery. -
Lincoln’s election is when Abraham Lincoln ran for president for the Republican Party, and wanted to end the expansion of slavery. He ended up winning the election, which was important to the start of the Civil War, because people in the Southern states thought that if he was president, it would be bad for the south. -
South Carolina was the first state to secede from the U.S. just weeks after the election, believing it’s state rights and the institution of slavery were under threat. This is a huge event for the start of the Civil War because it was the thing that made the other states secede.