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Missouri Compromise
A bill passed by Congress that admitted Maine as a free state and Missouri as a slave state. THere was also a line passed between the two that said that anything north excluding Missouri was a free state, and anything south excluding Maine was a slave state. This kept a balance between the north and south regarding slavery. -
Wilmot Proviso
The Wilmot Proviso was a declaration written by James Wilmot that was made to eliinate slavery within the land captured from the Mexican American War. James Wilmot was an abolitionist and he wrote the declaration to stop the spread of slavery. James K. Polk spent $2 million as part of a bill to change the terms of the treaty -
Compromise of 1850
A group of bills passed by Henry Clay that included California's acceptance as a free state, having the Utah and New Mexico territories decide themselves on the issue of slavery, the settling of the Texas-New Mexico boundary disputes, the ending of the slave trade of Washington D.C., and a law that allowed slave owners to find their escaped slaves easier. These bills were passed as an answer to the growing tensions between slave states and free states. -
Compromise of 1850
It is important because it angered many people and pushed them farther to the last straw that would lead to the Civil War. -
Fugitive Slave Act
A pair of federal laws created by Henry Clay that allowed for the capture and return of runaway slaves within the territory of the U.S.. Enacted by Congress in 1793, the first Fugitive Slave Act authorized local gov'ts to seize and return escaped slaves and impose penalties on people who aided in the fight of the slaves. It was passed as a part of the Compromise of 1850 to find an agreement between the abolitionists and the slave holders. -
Fugitive S;ave Act Continued
The fugitive slave act impacted history because it angered the abolitionists very much and added to the now spreading fire that would lead to the Civil War. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
An anti slavery novel, written by Harriet Beecher Stowe. It depicts the horrors of slavery. Although she didn't know it at the time, Stowe's book fueled the Civil war and made many people go against slavery. The novel changed many people's views on slavery. It was important because many people believe that this was the book that would fuel many people to go to war. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
A bill that decided that Kansas and Nebraska can decide if they shall be free states or not through popular sovereignty. It was made to repeal the Missouri Compromise, and it is important because this Act cause a lot of violence to erupt because of the clashing views of the North and South that rushed to both states when they found out they could vote there. It is important because the desicion whether or not they should be slave states would change the future of the war and America. -
Dred Scott Case
A court case that showed that the U.S. Supreme Court said that all black slaves as well as free people were not U.S. citizens. Scott was a slave who had lived in the free state of Illinois before moving back to Missouri. He had appealed to the Supreme Court in hopes of being granted freedom. Although he was not granted freedom, his case was important because it gave national attention to the issue of slavery. -
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Lincoln Douglas Debates
A series of debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas in Illinois, who were both presidential candidates at the time. They participated in seven debates throughout the state's Congressional districts. Slavery was the main issue that the candidates debated about during their debates. They were important because they would lead to Lincoln being elected, and later the Southern secession. -
John Brown's Raid
John Brown, an abolitionist, leads a small army of 18 men to the town of Harper's Ferry. He wanted to instigate a major slave rebellion in the south. He would seize the arms and ammunition that he would use for the rebellion from a U.S. army fort. It happened because Brown was a very radical abolitionist who wanted to end slavery through any means necessary. It is important because he got several people to join his cause and it showed the depths that people will go to to end slavery -
Lincoln's Election of 1860
In 1860, Abraham Lincoln beat out three other candidates for president. However, he won the least amount of counties. But he did win more electoral college votes, which made him win. Democrats were not happy with this. They thought that Lincoln got lucky. But this was a victory for Republicans. His election is important because soon after, seven southern states would secede to form their own union, and one of the reasons that they seceded was because Lincoln was elected. This starts the CivilWar -
Southern Secession
Abraham Lincoln became president. Many southern states were very unhappy with this. Because of this, seven states seceded from the union. This would lead to the Confederate Army, and later the Civil War. Southern states were mainly unhappy that a Republican candidate won, and Republican candidates were against slavery at the time. They wanted to preserve the practice of slavery. This event is important because it the Union wanted the south back and that would be a reason for the war.
