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The Mexican War Ended
Combat operations lasted a year and a half, from the spring of 1846 to the fall of 1847. The war ended in a victory for the United States -
Fugitive Slave Act
The Fugitive Slave Act was passed as part of the Compromise of 1850. This act forced any federal official who did not arrest a runaway slave liable to pay a fine. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin Was Released
A book written in 1852 by Harriet Beecher Stowe. This book, had a huge impact on the way that northerners viewed slavery. -
Bleeding Kansas shocked Northerners
In 1854, the Kansas-Nebraska Act was passed allowing the Kansas and Nebraska territories to decide for themselves using popular sovereignty whether they wanted to be free or slave. -
Charles Sumner is Attacked by Preston on the Floor of the Senate
Violence occurred on the floor of the U.S. Senate. Pro-slavery Congressman Preston Brooks attacked Charles Sumner with a cane after Sumner had given a speech attacking the pro-slavery forces for the violence occurring in Kansas. -
Lecompton Constitution Rejected
Kansas was allowed to determine whether it would enter the union as free or slave. Numerous constitutions were advanced by the territory to make this decision. In 1857, the Lecompton Constitution was created allowing for Kansas to be a slave state. -
Dred Scott Decision
Dred Scott lost his case proving that he should be free because he had been held as a slave while living in a free state. The Court ruled that his petition could not be seen because he did not hold any property. -
John Brown Raided Harper's Ferry
a group of seventeen including five black members to raid the arsenal located in Harper's Ferry, Virginia (now West Virginia). His goal was to start a slave uprising using the captured weapons. However, after capturing several buildings, Brown and his men were surrounded and eventually killed or captured by troops led by Colonel Robert E. Lee. Brown was tried and hanged for treason. -
Abraham Lincoln Was Elected President
South Carolina had warned it would secede if he won. Lincoln agreed with the majority of the Republican Party that the South was becoming too powerful and made it part of their platform that slavery would not be extended to any new territories or states added to the union.
