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Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise was an effort by congress to shrink the differences between states and political parties over Missouri joining the Union as a slave state. Henry Clay led the compromise. It was decided that Maine would be admitted as a free state, Missouri would be a slave state, and all western territories north of Missouri's southern would be free of slave territories. Primary resource
https://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/hlaw:@field(DOCID+@lit(llac/035/01820367.tif)) -
Wilmot Proviso
The Wilmot Proviso was a proposed law to make every state acquired from Mexico in the war a free state. David Wilmot did not like african americans, but he also did not want slavery to spread. He wanted to end any chance of the new territories from Mexico being slave states. David Wilmot first showed off the Proviso to the House of Reps on August 8th, 1846. Primary resource
https://cartoons.osu.edu/digital_exhibits/drawnonstone/1848/Y927.html -
Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 was a series of bills passed by Congress that ended the fight between slave and free states over whether or not the territories acquired form Mexico would be slave states. Slavery in Washington DC was abolished. California was admitted as a free state. The Fugitive Slave Act was apart of the Compromise of 1850. Primary resource
https://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=llcg&fileName=024/llcg024.db&recNum=134 -
The Fugitive Slave Act
The Fugitive Slave Act was apart of the Compromise of 1850. It allowed the capture and return of runaway slaves in any part of the United States. People who did not capture a runaway slave and saw them were penalized. A lot of times, free men would be stolen of their freedom and thrown into slavery even though they were free. Primary resource
http://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/slavery-and-anti-slavery/resources/african-american-protests-fugitive-slave-law-1850 -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin was an anti-slavery novel written by Harriet Beecher Stowe. The novel was published in 1852. The novel made the horrors of slavery apparent to people in the North, while it angered the South. The South claimed that the novel was full of lies and made them look bad. The novel was on the sparks that started the Civil War. Primary resource
http://utc.iath.virginia.edu/reviews/rere27at.html -
Bleeding Kansas
The Kansas-Nebraska Act was brought to life in 1854 that mandated popular sovereignty. This allowed settlers in the area to decide the fate of the state being free or pro-slave. The Act was proposed by Stephen A. Douglas, Abraham Lincoln's opponent in the Presidential election. The act was a repeal of The Missouri Compromise which stated that there would be no slavery north of latitude 36'30'. -
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Dred Scott Case
In 1857, Dred Scott v. Sanford arose. Dred Scott was trying to sue for his freedom. Scott had lived with his owner for 2 years in places where slavery was illegal. He said this made him a free man. It was ruled that Scott could not sue because he was still property protected by the US Constitution and Congress did not have the power to overrule slavery. Southerners loved this decision because it made slavery free everywhere while people in the North feared it would spread to the West. -
Dred Scott primary resource
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Lincoln Douglas debates primary resource
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Lincoln-Douglas Debate
Abraham Lincoln argued against the fact that African Americans were not American Citizens. Douglas believed that individual states should decide whether they were free or not. Lincoln thought that slavery was wrong and wanted to stop it from spreading west. Douglas took advantage of the fact that Lincoln thought that African Americans were entitled to life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. Douglass would eventually win the election, but Lincoln gained a lot more supporters. -
John Brown's Raid
John Brown was an abolitionist who wanted to start an uprising in slavery. He thought he could use violence to end the violence of slavery. In 1859, he led 21 men into a mission to capture Harper’s Ferry. They easily captured the base. They seized guns and other weapons and wanted to start a full scale slave revolt. He thought people would hear about this uprising and want to join, but no one came. -
John Brown's Raid-cont.
Eventually, Robert E. Lee led a group of American troops and captured Brown while killing 10 of his men. Brown was sentenced to death by hanging. Northerners rejoiced over Brown, while southerners saw him as a terrorist. This was one of the little sparks that started the Civil War. primary resources
http://www.wvculture.org/history/jbexhibit/jbprimarydocuments.html -
Lincoln's election of 1860-cont.
Come election day, Lincoln won every free state, Breckinridge won most of the slave states, Bell was only able to capture 3 states in the upper south, and Douglas won Missouri. Lincoln won 40% of the vote, but he won all of the states that had a high number of electoral votes which propelled in the electoral college. The north rejoiced because Lincoln did not like slavery. However, the south did not think that Lincoln would protect their rights, so they were mad. -
Lincoln's Election of 1860
In 1860, a total of 4 candidates ran for president. They were Stephen Douglas (Northern Democrats), Abraham Lincoln (Republicans), John Breckinridge (Southern Democrats), and John Bell (Constitutional Union Party). Abraham Lincoln was the only candidate who publicly criticized slavery. Stephen Douglas tried to gain back Southern Democrats, but he failed to do so. Primary resource
http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/primarysources/lincolninaugural1.html -
Southern Secession
In response to Lincoln being elected, Southern states began seceding. South Carolina was the first to go. Six more states followed. The frustrated southern states teamed up to form the Confederate States of America. Some southerners did not want to secede, but they were easily outnumbered. By March, the South had their own constitution. Senator Jefferson Davis was named President. On April 12th, 1861, the Confederate Army attacked Fort Sumner, which marked the beginning of the Civil War. -
Southern secession
