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Events Leading to Civil War
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The Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise was created by Henry Clay and it made for the purpose to end the argument about slave and free states. The Compromise said that Missouri would become a slave state but there would be an imaginary line drawn under Missouri and all future stated above that line would be free states. This led to war because the North and South were still arguing about if slavery was right. -
The Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 was created by Henry clay and was accepted by congress in September of 1850. The compromise said that California would enter the union as a free state which would make the North happy and it also said that the Utah and New Mexico territories would decide themselves about slavery in there territories. The compromise also resulted in a stronger fugitive slave law and it ended the slave trade in Washington D.C.. The South did not like the new slave law and wanted it ended. -
The Kansas Nebraska Act
The Kansas Nebraska Act was an act created in 1854 by Stephen Douglas and said that two new territories would be made as Kansas and Nebraska. But this abolished the Missouri Compromise by saying slavery would be decided by the settlers who lived there. This led to fights in Kansas and a very big fight called the blood shed in Kansas -
The Dred Scott Case
In 1857, a slave owner moved to Wisconsin where slavery was banned. When his owner moved back to Missouri Scott argued that his time in Wisconsin made him a free man and went to court. While in court Chief Justice Taney said that slaves are property and the fifth amendment of the Constitution said you can not take property away from a person and said that no African American, whether a slave or free, was an American citizen or could ever become one. Northerners did not like this wanted it gone. -
The Election of 1860
The Election of 1860 showed just how divided the country was. The republicans united behind Abraham Lincoln but the Democrats were split between the North and the South. The Northern Democrats nominated Stephen Douglas and the Southern Democrats nominated John C. Brekinridge. With the Democrats divided Lincoln sailed to victory but in an odd way.He only won 40% of the votes and his name wasn't even on the voting ballot in the South. the South feared that Lincoln would try to end slavery. -
The attack on Fort Sumter
A month after Lincoln became President of the not-so-united United sates, Confederated from the South opened fire on Fort Sumter, a federal fort in Charleston Harbor. After 33 hours of fighting the defenders of the fort raised up he white flag to surrender. Once word got out of the betrayal of the South the North was furious and declared war.
