1820-1860 timeline

By Pierces

  • Missouri Compromise

    The Missouri Compromise was a major event that started the lead up to the Civil War. It took place on March 2, 1820 and it made it so any new state that was north of the line 36:30 became a free state where slavery was outlawed. However any new state below the line became a slave state.

  • The Compromise of 1850

    The Compromise of 1850 was made as an agreement between the north and the south. A reason that this came to be was so the senate would stay equal on topics concerning slavery and so on. Missouri became a slave state and Maine became a free state. This made it so everything above the line 36:30 would become a free state and everything below it would become a slave state.

  • Fugitive Slave Act

    The Fugitive Slave Act was a law that forced all citizens to capture all runaway slaves no matter if they were in the north or the south. Slaves who were caught were not given a fair trial and judges were bribed with extra money to send them to the south no matter what. The north wasn't happy about this so tensions rose. This was a major event in the build up of the Civil War.

  • Uncle Tom's Cabin

    Uncle Tom's Cabin was a book published to show people the absolute horrors of slavery from a first hand account. This book changed the minds of many northerners who were on the fence about slavery. It convinced them that it was immoral and against their religion.

  • Kansas-Nebraska Act

    The Kansas-Nebraska Act was made so a government could be set up in a very large territory. Divided into two so they could vote on slavery.

  • South Carolina secedes

    South Carolina was the first state to secede because of Abraham Lincoln's victory and so slaves would be heavily banned in all places they could. Many other states followed because they wanted slaves.

  • John Brown's Raid on Harpers Ferry

    This raid was a build up in hopes that it would trigger a slave revolt in the south but it did not go to plan. His plan backfired because in the area where the raid was set, there were very few slaves to revolt and chances of success were slim. John was given the death penalty and was charged with treason.

  • Dred Scott Case

    The Dred Scott Case was made because Dred was a slave and his owner took him with him on a work call to a free state. Anti-slavery lawyers helped him file a case that said he should be free because he was in a free state. The case went all the way up to the supreme court and their ruling was that a piece of property could not make a lawsuit so this case was invalid. This upset many northerners and was a big movement towards Civil War.

  • Election of 1860

    The election of 1860 was run by two people, Abraham Lincoln and John C. Breckinridge. Lincoln won even with only 40 percent of the popular vote. The other candidate began urging people to stay with him after his loss in favor of slavery. This was the final straw before Civil War.