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Missouri Compromise is Settled
In 1820, a new territory called Missouri had applied to enter the Union as a slave state. This caused uproar in the North, as it would have disrupted the balance of power between the free and the slave states. As a result, Maine was entered into the Union as a free state as a means to counteract Missouri's entrance as a slave state. This examplifies Congress' long struggle with the nation's stance on slavery, and the beginning of the rising tensions between the North and the South. -
Dred Scott Case
In 1946, Dred Scott attempted to sue his current owner Irene Emerson for refusing to let him pay his way out of slavery. Scott would attempt to sue twice, once in the Missouri Court in 1846, and the second in the Supreme Court in 1857. The second time, it was determined that as Scott was property he had no right to an attorney, and therefore no right to sue. This outraged the North, causing the country to become even more heavily divided. -
'The North Star' is First Published
The North Star was an abolitionist newspaper written and editted by a man named Frederick Douglass. Douglass was a slave who had escaped to the North and became a speaker for slaves and the abolitionist movement in the North. Inspired by another popular abolitionist newspaper at the time, The Liberator, the paper discussed many current events related to the fight against slavery. This is but one example of the many instances of propagranda spread throughout both the North and the South. -
Compromise of 1850 is Discussed
In 1849, California requested to join the Union as a free state, putting the balance of power in America at risk once again. Settled in 1850, the Compromise of 1850 included a number of controversial laws being added as a result of California's introduction into the states. These laws and acts included the Fugitive Slave Act, which allowed runaway slaves to be returned to their owners regardless of how long they had been slaves. Many free slaves were captured, almost as an insult to the North. -
'Uncle Tom's Cabin' is Published
Uncle Tom's Cabin (also known as Life Among the Lowly) was a novel written by abolitionist Harriet Beecher Stowe in 1852. Published by John P. Jewett and Company, it depicted the stories of a multitude of African American character's and their experiences with slavery. The book was inspired by a short visit she took to a slave state in which she saw first-hand the horrific ways these people were treated. The book was very controversial for it's time, and served to further the national divide. -
Kansas Bleeds for Two Years
On January 29th, 1854, the Kansas-Nebraska act favored popular sovereignty in the new territories. This meant that the stat would be slave or free depending on vote from it's citizens. This saw the start of a series of skrimishes between two rival groups in newly founded Kansas, the abolitionists from the North and slave-owners from the South. These skirmishes and raids are known as the 'Bleeding Kansas' incident, and it lasted for two years. It marked the first act of violence from either side. -
The Raid of Harper's Ferry
After the Bleeding Kansas event, a man named John Brown who helped participate in the event went into hiding for the atrocities he had comitted during the event. Brown was a determined abolitionist, who saw that the only way slavery would be abolished would be through blood and war. On October 16th, John gathered his followers to join him on the raid of Harper's Ferry in an attempt to spark a slave revolution. Brown was executed after the raid, his actions dividing the Union more than ever. -
South Secedes from the Union
With the nation more divided than ever, it was only a matter of time until the South seceded from the Union. This time came when Abraham Lincoln was elected as president, a man with the intent of containing slavery to where it was. As a result, the southern states of the Union began to secede one by one in an attempt to keep their slaves and their livelihoods. Lincoln saw this, and in an attempt to keep the Union from falling apart, declared war on the Confederacy. Thus, the Civil War had begun.
