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10 causes of the Civil War
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Texas becomes a state
In 1845, the Republic of Texas was annexed to the United States of America, becoming the 28th U.S. state. Border disputes between the new state and Mexico, which had never recognized Texas independence and still considered the area a renegade Mexican state, led to the Mexican–American War (1846–1848). -
The Mexican War
A war between the U.S. and Mexico spanned the period from spring 1846 to fall 1847. The war was initiated by the United States and resulted in Mexico's defeat and the loss of approximately half of its national territory in the north. -
Fugative Slave Act
The Fugitive Slave Law or Fugitive Slave Act was passed by the United States Congress on September 18, 1850, as part of the Compromise of 1850 between Southern slave-holding interests and Northern Free-Soilers. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin was written.
Uncle Tom's Cabin is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in 1852, the novel "helped lay the groundwork for the Civil War", according to Will Kaufman. -
Bleeding Kansas shocked Northerners.
Bleeding Kansas was a series of violent political confrontations involving anti-slavery and pro-slavery elements between 1854 and 1861. -
Charles Sumner is attacked by Preston on the floor of the Senate.
Three days after the speech was delivered Representative Preston Brooks of South Carolina (a relative of Senator Butler) entered the nearly deserted Senate Chamber where he found Senator Sumner working at his desk. Declaring the speech a "libel on South Carolina" Brooks fiercely and repeatedly beat the senator on the head and shoulders with his cane, which finally broke into pieces from the strain. Senator Sumner struggled to escape his assailant, who calmly left the scene after his cane broke. -
Dred Scott Decision
On this day in 1857, the United States Supreme Court issues a decision in the Dred Scott case, affirming the right of slave owners to take their slaves into the Western territories, there-by negating the doctrine of popular sovereignty and severely undermining the platform of the newly created Republican Party. -
Lecompton Constitution Rejected
The Lecompton Constitution was the second of four proposed constitutions for the state of Kansas (it was preceded by the Topeka Constitution and was followed by the Leavenworth and Wyandotte Constitutions, the Wyandotte becoming the Kansas state constitution). -
John Brown Raided Harper's Ferry
John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry (also known as John Brown's raid or The raid on Harpers Ferry; in many books the town is called "Harper's Ferry") was an attempt by the white abolitionist John Brown to start an armed slave revolt in 1859 by seizing a United States arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia. -
Abraham Lincoln was Elected President
On November 6, 1860, Lincoln was elected the 16th president of the United States, beating Democrat Stephen A. Douglas, John C. Breckinridge of the Southern Democrats, and John Bell of the new Constitutional Union Party. He was the first president from the Republican Party.
