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Missouri Compromise
It increased tension.Three years later the Missouri Compromise was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in the Dred Scott decision, which ruled that Congress did not have the authority to prohibit slavery in the territories. -
Mexican War
The war raised the the tension becasue of how acquisition of such a large territory would affect the balance between slave and free states -
Wilmot Proviso
it lowered tension. The Wilmot Proviso was designed to eliminate slavery within the land acquired as a result of the Mexican War -
California Gold Rush
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Compromise of 1850
The fifth law, enacted on September 20, 1850, prohibited the slave trade in the District of Columbia. Southerners in Congress were unanimous in opposing this provision, which was seen as a concession to the abolitionists, but were outvoted. -
Fugitive Slave Law
It raised tension because it forced citizens to assist in the recovery of fugitives, and if they were unwilling to assist or had aided a fugitive in escaping, they were subject to a fine and prosecution. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
It lowered tension.The prior to the publication, most people in the North were probably not aware on how bad the conditions for slaves were in then south. -
Republican Party Forms
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Kansas- Nebraska Act
The Kansas-Nebraska Act allowed people in the territories of Kansas and Nebraska to decide for themselves whether or not to allow slavery within their borders. -
“Bleeding Kansas”
It increased tension. Bleeding Kansas, Bloody Kansas or the Border War was a series of violent political confrontations in the United States involving anti-slavery "Free-Staters" and pro-slavery "Border Ruffian", or "southern Yankees" elements in Kansas between 1854 and 1861. -
Dred Scott vs. Sandford
It raised tension. The Supreme Court ruled that Americans of African descent, whether free or slave, were not American citizens and could not sue in federal court. -
Charles Sumner caned in the Senate
It lowered tension over the expansion. Representative Preston Brooks attacked Senator Charles Sumner, an abolitionist, with a walking cane in retaliation for a speech given by Sumner two days earlier in which he fiercely attacked slaveholders including a relative of Brooks. -
John Brown’s Raid at Harper’s Ferry
It raised tension over the expansion of slavery. It proved to be a strong boost to the Southern militia movement, with under strength militia companies recruiting to full strength and a large number of new companies starting up and successfully recruiting. -
Abraham Lincoln elected President
It increased tension. In 1860, Lincoln won the party's presidential nomination. In the November 1860 election, Lincoln again faced Douglas, who represented the Northern faction of a heavily divided Democratic Party, as well as Breckenridge and Bell. -
Southern states begin to secede
it increased tension. To maintain that the primary cause of the war was the Southern states’ desire to preserve the institution of slavery. Others minimize slavery and point to other factors, such as taxation or the principle of States' Rights. -
Battle at Fort Sumter
it raised tension. Davis decided he had no choice but to order Anderson to surrender Sumter. Anderson refused. The Civil War began when Confederate artillery, under the command of General Pierre Gustave T. Beauregard, opened fire on Fort Sumter.