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Missouri Compromise
The legislation admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a non-slave state at the same time, so as not to upset the balance between the slave and the free states in the nation. -
Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 included five separate bills passed by the United States Congress. The bills temporarily defused tensions between slave and free states in the years leading up to the Civil War.
The Compromise contained the following solutions:
-California was admitted to the Union as a free state
-Divided Mexican territory into New Mexico and Utah
-Ended slave trade in Wash. D.C.
-Included strict Fugitive Slave law
-Settled a border disputed between Texas and New Mexico -
Fugitive Slave Act
The Fugitive Slave Act mandated the return of slaves to their owners, even if they were in a free state. All citizens were required to assist in capturing escaped slaves. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin Published
Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin was a significant publication that aimed to expose the evils of slavery through the Slave Act. The book had a big impact on how the American public perceived slavery. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
This act was a bill that mandated popular sovereignty, allowing settlers of a territory to decide whether slavery would be allowed within a new state border. The senator, Stephen Douglas, proposed dividing the large region into two territories, Kansas and Nebraska. -
Dred Scott Case
Dred Scott's fight for freedom as a Black enslaved man led to the undoing of all prior compromises on slavery's location and property rights. This caused outrage among Northerners who were also upset by the decision to deny African Americans citizenship and rights. -
John Brown's Raid on Harpers Ferry
John Brown was a formal abolitionist who supported an immediate end to slavery. His plan at Harpers Ferry was to provide resources to free the slaves, encourage them to rebel, and strike fear into the Southern states. -
Election of 1860
Lincoln, the Republican candidate, won because the Democratic party was split over slavery. As a result, the South no longer felt like it had a voice in politics and several states seceded from the Union. -
South Carolina secedes
South Carolina became the first state to secede from the federal Union. Abraham Lincoln's win in the 1860 presidential election led to calls for disunion in the slaveholding South.