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The First Organized Slavery Protest
The first organized protest against slavery was drafted by a group of Quakers in Germantown, PA. It was called the Germantown Protest. It argue that slavery was essentially theft as you were buying something stolen and that adultery is wrong yet slave traders/owners forced adultery on men and women by breaking up marriages when they resold husbands and wives to different owners. -
The Declaration Ignores the Slaves
The Declaration of Independence declares that "all men are created equal." It contains a clause attacking the king for emancipating slaves and arming them to fight against the colonists. The Declaration ignores slaves because they aren't seen as people -
Gradual Emancipation in Pennsylvania
Under this law, no new slaves can be brought into the state, and the children of all existing slaves will be freed when they turn 28. Slaves born before the passing of this act have to face a lifetime of servitude. Those born after July 4th, 1780 will be born free. -
Three Fifths Compromise
Congress passes the Three-Fifths Compromise stating that each slave is to be counted as three-fifths of a person for calculating representation in Congress. This act strengthens the power in the House of Representatives for slave states. -
The Northwest Ordinance
Congress passes the Northwest Ordinance, preventing slavery from existing in the new federal territories. This makes more conflict between the abolitionists and the people who support slavery. -
Ban of slave trade
New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania forbid their citizens from participating in the slave trade. -
Eli Whitney Invents the Cotton Gin
Eli Whitney invents the cotton gin, which allows short- staple cotton and revolutionizes the industry, increasing its profitability and the land areas that can be utilized for growing the crop. This moves westward, causing the spread of slave labor. -
Hartford Convention
New England Federalists gather in Hartford, Connecticut to discuss the power of slaveholders. -
The Missouri Compromise
Congress reached a series of agreements that became known as the Missouri Compromise. Missouri was admitted as a slave state and Maine was admitted as a free state, preserving the Congressional balance. A line was also drawn through the unincorporated western territories along the 3630 parallel, dividing north and south as free and slave. -
Andrew Jackson is elected
Andrew Jackson becomes the 7th president of the United States. He is another president that is a slave owner. -
Nat Turner's Rebellion
A slave named Nat Turner incited an uprising that spread through several plantations in southern Virginia. Turner and approximately seventy cohorts killed around sixty white people. The deployment of militia infantry and artillery suppressed the rebellion after two days of terror. -
William Lloyd Garrison published the 1st issue of the abolitionist journal
William Lloyd Garrison publishes the first issue of the abolitionist journal, the Liberator. Garrison changed his position and became the leader of the emerging anti-slavery movement. The Liberator reached thousands of people worldwide. His position on slavery made him loved and hated by many Americans. -
Gag Rule
Congress votes to table antislavery petitions, prohibit their publication, and censor any discussion or even mention of them on the floor. This is otherwise known as the gag rule. Most Northern Whigs vote against it, but most Northern Democrats vote for it. -
Texas Declares Independence
Texas creates "The Lone Star Republic." Many abolitionists oppose Texas because they know it will become a slave state. This creates more of a conflict between abolitionists and people who support slavery. -
Underground Railroad
Lead by black abolitionist Robert Purvis, the Underground Railroad is formally organized. The Underground Railroad allowed slaves to escape to the free states and live freely. The Underground Railroad angered many people who believed slavery should exist. -
The Free-Soil Coalition
This would help expand slavery. The Free-Soil Party was created by three major groups rebellious democrats, anti-slavery Whigs, and members of the Liberty party -
The Wilmot Proviso
Ignited the debate over the expansion of slavery. The House of Representatives adopted the proviso. Slavery was expanding which angered abolitionists. -
Popular Sovereignity
Wanted to help bypass the arguement of slavery. Popular sovereignity was the idea that appealed to many Americans. It promised to open the lands quickly to non slaveholding farmers. This caused more conflict over slavery and territorial expansion -
The End of the Mexican War
This posed a problem: as these new territories would become states, would they be free or slave states? Congress passed the Compromise of 1850 which basically made California free and allowed the people to pick in Utah and New Mexico. This ability of a state to decide whether it would allow slavery was called popular sovereignty. -
The California Gold Rush
100,000 Americans, mostly men, set off to California to dig up gold. Gold grew the economy and spurred the construction of railroad and telegraph lines. This event caused the economy to grow and caused to move westward and slavery moved that way as well -
Harriet Tubman
Harriet Tubman escapes from slavery in Maryland. She returned to the South 19 times and brought out more than 300 slaves. -
The Compromise of 1850
The compromise prevented further territorial expansion of slavery while strengthening the Fugitive Slave Act, a law which compelled Northerners to seize and return escaped slaves to the South. -
The Fugitive Slave Act
Most controversial element of the compromise. The law denied alleged fugitive slaves a jury trial. This fumed Abolitionists. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Harriet Beecher Stowe’s fictional exploration of slave life was a cultural sensation. Northerners felt as if their eyes had been opened to the horrors of slavery, while Southerners protested that Stowe’s work was slanderous. Decades of legislative conflict and widened the division between North and South. -
The Election of 1852
Democrats chose Franklin Pierce of New Hampshire as their presidential candidate. This election endorsed the Compromise of 1850. -
Bleeding Kansas
The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, narrowly passed while Congressmen brandished weapons and uttered death threats in the House chambers, overturned parts of the Missouri Compromise by allowing the settlers in the two territories to determine whether or not to permit slavery by a popular vote. Although both territories eventually ratified anti-slavery constitutions, the violence shocked the nation. -
Charles Sumner is Attacked by Preston on the Floor of the Senate
One of the most publicized events in Bleeding Kansas was when on May 21, 1856 Border Ruffians went to Lawrence, Kansas which was known to be a free-state area. One day later, 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. -
Dred Scott vs. Sanford
Dred Scott was a Virginia slave who tried to sue for his freedom in court. The case eventually rose to the level of the Supreme Court, where the justices found that, as a slave, Dred Scott was a piece of property that had no legal rights. The Dred Scott Decision threatened to entirely recast the political landscape that had thus far managed to prevent civil war. The classification of slaves as mere property made the federal government’s authority to regulate the institution much more ambiguous. -
Lecompton Constitution Rejected
When the Kansas-Nebraska Act passed, 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. The Lecompton Constitution was created allowing for Kansas to be a slave state. Pro-slavery forces supported by President James Buchanan attempted to push the Constitution through the US Congress for acceptance. There was enough opposition that in 1858 it was sent back to Kansas for a vote. -
The Panic of 1857
The failure of the Ohio Life Insurance and Trust Company on August 24th, 1857 precipitated the panic and was followed by an economic slump. The South weathered into crisis causing a drop in cotton prices. -
Douglas vs. Lincoln
The Lincoln-Douglas debates took place from August 21-October 15 1858. They attracted thousands of spectators and were read in the newspapers by many more. Lincoln and Douglas fought over their views of slavery. -
John Brown's Raid
John Brown cut his teeth as a killer as an anti-slavery during Bleeding Kansas. In mid-October of 1859, the crusading abolitionist organized a small band of white allies and free blacks and raided a government arsenal in Harpers Ferry, Virginia. He was tried for treason and, upon his execution, became a martyr for the abolitionist cause. Southerners, on the other hand, began to militarize in preparation for future raids. -
Abraham Lincoln's Election
Abraham Lincoln was elected by a considerable margin in 1860 despite not being included on many Southern ballots. As a Republican, his party’s anti-slavery outlook struck fear into many Southerners. On December 20, 1860, a little over a month after the polls closed, South Carolina seceded from the Union. Six more states followed by the spring of 1861. -
The Battle of Fort Sumter
With secession, several federal forts, including Fort Sumter in South Carolina, suddenly became outposts in a foreign land. Abraham Lincoln made the decision to send fresh supplies to the beleaguered garrisons. On April 12, 1861, Confederate warships turned back the supply convoy to Fort Sumter and opened a 34-hour bombardment on the stronghold. The garrison surrendered on April 14.