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Virginia & Kentucky Resolutions written
Link The Virginia Resolution was written by James Madison and the Kentucky Resolution was written by Thomas Jefferson. They both stated that it was the duty of the state governments to end laws within their borders that were unconstitutional instead of the Congress's. Virgina and Kentucky were the only two states who did this. -
Hartford Convention meets during war of 1812
Link The Federalist Party decided to meet and discuss how they could amend the Constitution to protect the interests of New England due to the ongoing war. The amendments proposed at the meetings were not received well throughout the Union. -
Missouri Compromise
Link Congress had managed to maintain an even number of slave and free states and wanted to maintain that balance. This made dealing with the new western territories gained from the Louisiana Purchase a challenge. The Missouri Compromise solved this dilema. It stated that Missouri would be admitted as a slave stae and Maine would be admitted as a free state. Also, new land north of the Southern boundary of Missouri could not have slaves and the other new lands could. -
Tariff of Abominations passed
Link The Tariff of Abominations was a tax on all imported goods. It protected new industries in the North that were going out of business because of ow-priced imported goods. The South opposed the Tariff because they had to pay higher prices on goods their region did not produce. -
South Carolina tries to nullify
Link South Carolina decided they were going to nullify the Tariff of Abominations, angry because it reduced their exportation sales. President Jackson was infuriated, and to avoid confrontation Congress drafted a compromise bill. Although this somewhat settled the dispute, it was clear that tensions were high between the North and South. -
Abolition of Slavery Act
Link Britain abolished slavery in their country by passing the Abolition of Slavery Act. All British slaves received freedom and in return Parliament paid British slaveowners compensation. -
Kansas- Nebraska Act passed
Link 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. It also repealed the Missouri Compromise of 1820 which prohibited slavery north of latitude 36°30´. In doing so it supported the pro-slavery southerners who were eager to vote for the territories to be slave states. -
Texas declares independence from Mexico
Link A committee consisting of George C. Childress, Edward Conrad, James Gaines, Bailey Hardeman, and Collin McKinney, prepared the declaration of Texas freedom. After Texas broke off of Mexico it became a Republic. -
James Polk elected
Link Polk's presidential campaign focused on the anexation of Texas. He promised he'd fight for the anexation of Texas and for American control of the entire Oregon Territory. He was able to defeat Caly and Birney and win the election. He served one term as the 11th president of the United States. -
Mexican War
Link Polk offered Mexico millioins of dollars for North Mexico but Mexico refused. At an attempt to start war to get the land, Polk sent General Taylor's troops toward the Rio Grande where border disputes were. Several Americans were killed and War on Mexico was declared. After two years, the U.S. won, winning North Mexico for half of what they had originally offered. -
Wilmot Proviso
Link The Wilmot Proviso was introduced as an effort to prevent slavery from spreading into the new territories gained from the Mexican War. The amendment was passed in the House of Representatives but was not passed in the Senate. Congress requested 2 million dollars to resolve the final negotiations of the Mexican-American War. -
California enters the Union
LinkCalifornia entered the Union as a free state under the Compromise of 1850 as the 31st state of the Union. The gold found in January of 1848 fastened California’s admittance to the Union. The newly found gold led to an increase in population and a need for civil government. -
Fugitive Slave Law entacted
Link This was part of the Compromise of 1850. It said that escaped slaves had to be returned to their masters if found. This scared alot of people from helping the slaves and enraged the Northernern abolitionists. This helped give the push the people needed to fight for slaves freedom. -
Publication of Uncle Tom's Cabin
LinkAfter the chaos that followed the passing of the Fugitive Slave Act, Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote down pieces for an abolitionist newspaper. They were eventually put together and published and called, "Uncle Tom's Cabin". This heated the argument of slavery which eventually lead to the civil war. -
Formation of Republican Party
Link The Republican Party was formed after the Kansas-Nebraska Act was passed. Thomas Jefferson was concidered to be one of their leaders because he was influential in keeping slavery out of the Northern territories. The Republicans consisted of free working white men who were opposed to the spread of slavery. -
Border Ruffians attack Lawrence
Link The Border Ruffian was a pro-slavery group who wanted Kansas to be admitted into the Union as a free state. More than 800 men "attacked Lawrence" by arresting the members of the free state government. They also destroyed newspaper offices, homes, shops, and the Free State Hotel. The attack resulted in bills that introduced Kansas as a free state by the Republicans and bills that introduced Kansas as a slave state by the democrats. -
Charles Sumner attacked
Link Charles Sumner was a Massachusetts senator who was attacked by Preston Brooks in 1856. It was in the U.S. Senate, when the South Carolina congressman Preston Brooks viciously attacked senator Charles. Sumner's anti-slavery speech a few days before is what set Preston Brooks off. Around three years later Sumner recovered and returned to senate to serve another fifteen years. -
Pottawatomie Creek
Link In 1856 at Pottawatamie Creek there was a massacre led by John Brown, an anti-slavery man who wanted to take revenge for what happened to Lawrence. His goal was to kill all of the people involved in the border ruffian attack. Five people were killed. The massacre and the sack of Lawrence lead to a war in Kansas. -
Lecompton Constitution passed
Link The Lecompton Constitutiion stated how the territory of Kansas would enter the Union concerning slavery. It gave the people of Kansas a choice. When it was sent to Washington he gave the people of Kansas permission to vote on whether to accept a smaller land grant. Kansas voted for no land grant, rejecting the Lecompton Constitution. -
Dred Scott decision announced
Link Dred Scott a Missouri slave sued for his freedom when he was brought into Wisconsin. In 1850 a Missouri court declared Scott free but two short years later he was returned to slavery by the Missouri Supreme Court. People said thst he had no right to sue as a black man, claiming the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional. -
Lincoln-Douglas Debates
Link The Lincoln-Douglas Debates was between Stephen Douglas and Abraham Lincoln for a seat in the US Senate. They debated about slavery, popular sovereignty and the political status of black people. Although Lincoln lost the Senate race, he ended up being the U.S. president. -
Raid at Harpers Ferry
Link John Brown lead the raid at Harper's Ferry. Their plan was to take weapons from an arsenal and in doing so hoped that slaves would rise up and rebel. However, after Brown killed men and took prisoners the slaves did nothing and eventually local militas fought back. Brown was captured and sentanced to death. -
Formation of Constitutional Union Party
Link The Constitutional Union Party was formed as a response to the conflicts between North and South. They wanted to avoid disunion becuase of the issue over slavery. The party nominated John Bell for president and Edward Everett for vice president. -
Election of 1860
Link The 1860 election featured Abraham Lincoln of the Republican Party who was against slavery, Stephen Douglas of the Northern Democrats who supported popular sovreignty, John Bell of the Constitutional Union Party who chose to ignore slavery completely, and John C. Breckenridge of the Southern Democrats who supported slavery. Lincoln got 59% of the elctoral votes and won presidency. -
Democrats split in 1860
Link The Democratic Party split because of their disagreement on slavery. Democrats in the north did not support slavery while southern democrats did. The Democratic Party split during the election of 1860 with Stephen Douglas as the Northern Democratic Party candidate, and John C. Breckinridge as the Southern Democratic Party candidate. This put the democrates at a disadvantage in the 1860 election.
