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The Nullification Crisis
Because of the tariff laws passed in 1828 and 1832, Southern states like South Carolina thought that the tariffs only supported the North and were unfair. VP John C. Calhoun said that any state that thought a law was unconstitutional could nullify it (make void). -
Compromise of 1850
After the Mexican war, heated debates happened between Congress to decide if the new territories the US won from Mexico would be free or slave. Once again, Henry Clay saved the day by making a compromise between the North and the South.
1. The slave trade in D.C. would be abolished and California would be admitted as a free state
2. Congress could not pass laws that banned slavery from the rest of the Mexican territory we had won
Some people thought that this compromise aided in saving the Union -
Missouri Compromise
Since the support of abolition was increasing, people were getting nervous about the growth of slavery as America was moving west. The politicians in the North and South had heated beefs over the growth of slavery. Henry Clay, The Great Compromiser, fixed this beef by admitting Maine as a free state and Arkansas as open to slavery. The series of laws that helped balance the slave states and free states was known as the Missouri Compromise. -
Fugitive Slave Act of 1850
The Fugitive Slave Act, passed in 1850 by Congress, permitted the capture of African-Americans that had fled to the North to escape the chains. The act convinced abolitionists to go to extreme lengths to end slavery. Theses laws made tensions higher between states, and made perfect conditions for The American Civil War and John Brown's Raid. -
Bleeding Kansas 1855
An election was held by the official state legislature before Kansas was to be admitted to the Union as a state. A vote was held to determine if Kansas would be pro slavery or anti-slavery. 5000 people from pro slavery Missouri came and voted for Kansas to be pro slavery. Kansas ended up a slave state. The anti-slavery people started their own government, and it was attacked by the pro slavery government. As an attempt at revenge, John Brown murdered a few of his pro slavery neighbors. -
Dred Scott Decision
Dred Scott was a slave that sued for his freedom; he argued that because he lived in a free territory, that he should be free. The court said that Scott was not free...
-based on his living in Illinois or Wisconsin
-because African Americans were not seen as citizens when the Constitution was drafted (1787)
-he was the property of his owner, and property could not be taken away from someone without due process of law -
Attack on Harper's Ferry
To inspire slaves to fight for their freedom, John Brown planned to capture and arsenal at the army base in Harper's Ferry. His plan was to steal the guns for the slaves to fight. Brown sent out the message to rally the slaves for the attack, but no one followed him. Brown and his accomplices were captured, 10 were killed. The issue of slavery had high tensions, and this caused it to break. Abolitionists saluted John Brown. -
Election of 1860
Despite the fact that Abraham Lincoln said he would do nothing to abolish slavery, he still wins the election. Shortly after Lincoln is elected,the Southern states began to secede from the Union.
