Wilmont Proviso 1846

On August 8, 1846, David Wilmont introduced a bill stating that slavery shall never exist in any terrritory the US might obtain from war with Mexico. This meant that territories out west such as California, Utah, and New Mexico. The Wilmont Proviso divided congress along regional lines. The northerners supported the proviso and the Southerners opposed it. Southerners feared that if the bill becomes a law, northerners, would have more power in congress than the south. The bill was then rejected by the senate.

Compromise of 1850

Henry Clay stepped forward with the Missouri compromise, believing it had something for everyone . It admitted California into the union as  free state.  It pleased the north that it would be a free state . It also divided the rest of the Southwest into two territories –New Mexico and Utah which were opened both for slavery. This pleased the south. It also ended slave trade in Washington D.C but allowed existing slaveholders to keep their current slaves. Thought this would please both north and south, but it didn’t . Clay and Webster (Senator Daniel Webster of Massachusetts opposed slavery but agreed to support Clay’s compromise)would hope this compromise would pacify both sides and ease the tensions over slavery, But it never did. The compromise included a strong Fugitive Slave Law, which was one of the reasons the north disliked the compromise. Because any escaped save was told to return to their owners. Those who didn’t or helped house them would be fined or jailed . The north didn’t want to follow this law and refused to obey it . The norths resistance to this law outraged the south.

Fugitive Slave Law 1850

The Fugitive Slave Law was part of the Compromise Of 1850 . This stated that all escaped slaves would be required to return to their owners. The south had demanded this for many years. But it had also stated “All good citizens , are hereby commanded to aid and assist in the prompt and efficient execution of this law.” And as part of this law those who did not would be fined or jailed. This angered the north because they believed if the slaves had escaped to the north they were free and didn’t have to return to their owners. Clay needed to get this law through to congress so he went to Senator Daniel Webster Of Massachusetts to get support, Webster was opposed to the idea of slavery but he decided to support Clay’s compromise in the effort to end the crisis between the north and south . Webster gave a speech to the congress urging his fellow senators to unite for the good of the nation . Quoted “ I wish to speak today, not as a Massachusetts man , nor as a northern man, but as an American , I speak today for the preservation of the union .” The debate went on for many months but the Congress finally approved Clay’s Compromise which included the Fugitive Slave Law. This took a big toll on the north. The north was against slavery and thought that any slave that had run to the north would be free.Now the south could get back the slaves they wanted.

Uncle Toms Cabin 1852

Published in 1852 Uncle Tom’s Cabin was a best-selling novel . Harriet Beecher Stowe  described the cruelties of slavery through the story of a dignified slave whose name was Uncle Tom. In the novel Stowe goes on through Tom’s experiences as a slave, with three slaveholders. Two of the slaveholders treated him kindly, but the third slaveholder Simon Legree would abuse Tom. Eventually Tom was whipped too death for having refused to tell where two escaped laves were hiding . Harriet Beecher Stowe was hoping this novel would help bring slavery to a quick and peaceful end. But alas it was not to be, instead the book increased the hostility of many northerners towards the south and the southerners to the northerners . southerners saw her description of slavery was both inaccurate and an insult to their way of life. The north found it heart breaking and they wanted slavery to end. The south was not pleased, they were upset the book was about a slave.The south believed slaves had no rights to be free or have no owner.This increased conflict between the north and the south.

New Republican Party 1854

On July 6, 1854, the new Republican party was created in Jackson, Michigan. The founder was Horace Grealy. The party was created in the hope that they could keep slavery out of the territories. Because the Republican Party has lots of support, they had more strength to win than the other parties. Even though they had strength, they lacked organization.

The Kansas-Nebraska Act- May 30, 1854

The Kansas Nebraska act was put into effect on May 30, 1854. This allowed the people in the territories of Kansas or Nebraska to decide themselves if they want to be a slave state or not. This act was created as a compromise for the issue of slavery. Because slavery was a huge debate between the North and The south this was put into place so that the people could make the choice. Though, the North believed with more  states becoming territories for slavery the South would have to much power. The North also believed that if the great plains turned into slave territory, slavery may spread rapidly through the country. Northerners did not agree with this change because it went completely against the Missouri Compromise. The Missouri Compromise stated any states past a certain point could or could not be a slave state. The South liked the change though because they would be able to have more slavery therefore more power. With the North and the south disagreeing on this act it was not long before conflict arose. Once the new act was passed anti-slavery and pro-slavery supporters rushed to the scene to settle Kansas to affect the first election being held. Pro-slavery supporters carried out the election but were charged with fraud by anti-slavery supporters. Anti-slavery supporters held another election but pro-slavery supporters refused to vote. When violence soon erupted the anti-slavery supporters were being led by supporter John Brown. These actions were soon named “Bleeding Kansas”. The Kansas- Nebraska Act caused great commotion between the north and the south but had a greater affect on the North. The North was strongly angered by this decision that it did not take long for conflict to arise.

Bleeding Kansas- 1854-1858

During the years of 1854 and 1858 the state of Kansas was going through a time of great anger which did not take long to lead to violence. What first caused citizens to become angry was the Kansas-Nebraska Act. This act allowed the people of Kansas and Nebraska to choose whether or not it is a slave state which goes completely against the Missouri Compromise. With slavery already being an ongoing issue in the states this didn’t make it any better, in fact it made it worse. Violence soon broke out between the people in Kansas as well as in the state Senate. Senator Charles Sumner decided to make a 2-day speech about this new act and how it was not appropriate. During this speech he had brought up three people in particular and not in a good way. When I say "Not in a good way" I mean, bashing them due to their part in the new Act. Unfortunately one of the Congressmen present had been related to one of those people causing his to get angry and savagely beat Sumner with his cane on the Senate floor.  This event was a direct result of the the Kansas-Nebraska Act and surely caused a lot of commotion between the north and the south and the violence continued.

Dred Scott Decision 1856

In 1856 a slave named Dred Scott came to question the court. Scott was from Missouri. Scott's owner took him north where they then lived there for four years. When they arrived home, Scott's owner died. After this happened, Scott hoped to gain back his freedom. When the court discussed this case, they concluded that slaves did not have the rights of citizens. In the end, Dred Scott, had no claim to freedom.

Charles Sumner Beaten By Preston Brooks- 1856

During the time of Bleeding Kansas in 1856 great violence took place on the Senate Floor. Following the Kansas-Nebraska Act Senator Charles Sumner went on a 2-day speech saying how it was a “crime against Kansas”. During this speech he mentioned a few names and not in a good way. One of those names happened to be Andrew Butler and unfortunately for Sumner, Butler’s cousin Congressman Preston Brooks was present. Angered by his speech Preston stepped in and savagely beat Sumner with his cane. In the position Sumner was in at his desk he had no way of escaping the attack and was stuck getting beat, Thankfully one of his fellow senators’ finally stepped in and removed Brooks. It was three years before Sumner was fully recovered and returned to the Senate. This incident did not phase the people in the south as much as it did the people in the north. Northerners were outraged by this because they saw Sumner as one of their own. Conflict was most definitely brought up between the north and south due to this.

The Depression of 1857

The Depression of 1857 started when Europe refused to buy American agricultural products and quickly spread around the nation. With Europe declining purchases, many businesses and corporations in Ohio started to fail leading them to shut down. The Ohio Trust Company (bank) failed due to Europe declining purchases and corruption. This caused worry and panic, which rapidly spread across the country especially in the North. Many businesses began to shut down or reduce their production which caused the unemployment rate to rise. While corporations continued to shut down, many men were left unemployed causing the US  to go into a depression. This depression affected many citizens in the north and south. Though, it had a much greater affect on the North which caused a continuation of uprising conflict.

Nativism and the know nothing party 1854

In 1854, Nativists created a new political party called the know nothing party. Nativism is the belief that US born americans are better and more important than imigrants. The nativists did not like the number of new immigrants coming into the counrty. The party was short lived because the northerners and southerners were divided over the issue of slavery in the territories.

Lincoln-Douglas Debate 1858

The Lincoln-Douglas Debate was a political debate between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas . Lincoln was a Republican and a firm opponent to slavery while Douglas was for slavery.  The debate was held during the 1858 campaign for a US Senate seat from Illinois . The debate was about slavery, popular sovereignty , and the legal and political status of black Americas. Lincoln believed that the government could not endure a society that was half free and half slave. This debate between them wen ton whether to make Slavery lawful in all states or not for four months Lincoln and Douglass crisscrossed Illinois , traveling nearly 10,00 miles and participating in seven face to face debates. Douglass had a strategy to picture Lincoln as a fanatical black republican whose goal was to incite the civil war, emancipate the slaves , and make blacks the social and political equals of whites. But Lincoln and Douglass had contrasting views on the problem of slavery Lincoln argued that slavery was a dying institution that had reached its natural limits and could not thrive where climate and soil were inhospitable. Douglass regarded slavery as a dynamic , expansionist institution , hungry for new territory. These debates catapulted Lincoln into the national spotlight and made him a serious presidential possibility in 1860 . The conflict between north and south was heating up.

Harpers Ferry Incident- October 16th, 1859

On October 16^th, 1859 John Brown led 21 men to the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry. Brown’s intention was to raid the arsenal and distribute the weapons to slaves in the area. With this in mind they were going to spark a slave revolt. This plan did not last long because federal troops emerged on the scene capturing Brown along with all of his men. Brown was then tried for treason, convicted, and executed for his actions. When all of this went down many northerners saw Brown as a hero while southerners saw him as a “lunatic supporting anti-slavery movement”. This incident showed rising conflict between the North and South.

Lincoln becomes President 1861

Lincoln was the 16^th president of the United States of America . By the time Lincoln was inaugurated on march 14^th 1861 , seven states had already seceded and the Confegerate States of  America had been formally established with Jefferson Davis as its elected president . One month after being elected president the U.S Civil War started The North and south were in an all out fight over slavery. the south had felt stripped of its power, and felt they had no more say. So he war was started and the south was winning. But by the time it was it became 1863 the tide had turned against the Confederacy , Lincoln emancipated the slaves.

The Formation of the Confederacy 1861

The Southern states feeling that they had lost their voice in the US, decided to leave the US and become their own country. The Confederate states formed by the Southern states after their secession from the union. The confederate constitution stated that they reconized and protected slavery in new territories