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Virginia & Kentucky Resolutions Written
Virginia and Kentucky ActsThe Kentucky and Virginia Resultions were primarily to set guidelines by the legislature to protest a Federalist act called the Alien and Sedition Act. They were written by James Madison and Thomas Jefferson. They had a lot to do with the lines dividing the power held by the central government and the state. These resolutions were very secretive and caused a great amount of controversy. -
Hartford Convention Meets during War of 1812
Hartford ConventionThe purpose of the Convention that meets on this day is to discuss the war and to oppose it. Delegates from several states, including Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island come together and propose Constitutional amendments that are unpopular in the nation, which ultimately leads to the decline of the Federalist national party. -
Missouri Compromise
Missouri CompromiseThe Missouri Compromise was a law passed that prohibited slavery north of the parallel 36*30' latitude line, and permitted it south of the line. It was a way to try to restrain the spread of slavery to a certain degree. Missouri was an exception to the Compromise. It became a free state. -
Tariff of Abominations passed
Tariff of AbominationsThe tariff was passed to attempt to protect New England rights in the manufacturing and production in the West. The imported goods had such a low price that the businesses were in danger of bankruptcy. The tariff was introduced to protect these things from happening. -
South Carolina tries to nullify
Nullification CrisisSouth Carolina wanted to take away the tariffs that were created and put up something new. They wanted to be free of restrictions, so they tried to nullify. South Carolina thought that the U.S. government was weak centrally and strong in every state. -
Abolition of Slavery Act (1833)
Abolition of Slavery in the UKOn this day, slavery was announced to be abolished in the United Kingdom. It's Royal Dessent was on this day. The Act was passed in Parliament banning slavery across the British Empire. The Act was eventually repealed entirely in 1998. -
Texas Declares Independence From Mexico
Declaration of Independence, TexasThe Texans were so desperate to liberate themselves from Mexico that they created a declaration overnight. It is very similar to the Declaration of Independence written by America about 60 years earlier. It talks about the government and how it should be, and then finally declaring themsleves free from Mexico. -
James K. Polk elected
James K. PolkJames K Polk became the 11th president of the United States on this day. Polk strongly advocated for expansion westward. He was a Democrat from North Carolina. James was pro-slavery. He had been a slaveholder all his life, and some people claimed that he wanted slavery to be spread, and that is why he accpeted the land from Mexico. -
Mexican War
Mexican WarOn this day, Congress officially declared war on Mexico. The Mexican War, or the Mexican- American War, was a result of the Texas Revolution in 1836. Mexico still believed that Texas was their territory even though it was annexed to the United States many years before. The war continued for one and a half years, finally ending in the fall of 1847. The war was a victory for the United States. -
Wilmont Provisio
Wilmont ProvisioWilmont Provisio is a proposal to the U. S. Representatives, introduced during the Mexican War. Its purpose was to ban slavery from the land gained from Mexico. A Congressman named David Wilmont presented the Provisio to try and resolve the War between Mexico and America. In the House of Representatives, it became quite popular but had the opposite affect in the Senate, so it was never passed. -
California Enters the Union
California RepublicOn this day, California became the 31st state of the United States of America. California entered the union as a free state. They declared their capital city as San Jose, but was eventually changed to Benicia. The capital of California was moved from place to place until the people finally settled on Sacramento. -
Fugitive Slave Law enacted
Fugitive Slave LawThis law was passed as a part of the Compromise of 1850. It left the battle between the North and the South raging more than ever. The Fugitive Slave Law declared that runaway slaves, by law, were to be returned to their masters. If anybody was caught helping the slaves run away, either directly or indirectly, they would face jailtime and charges. It was nicknamed the "Bloodhound Law." -
Publication of Uncle Tom's Cabin
Harriet Beecer StoweUncle Tom's Cabin is a novel written by Harriet Beecher Stowe in 1852. It shows the world two different sides of slavery. The novel was written at first in parts, called a serial. Each chapter was published one at a time. When it was finally published as a complete novel, it sold more than 30,000 copies in its first year. The story became famous along with the author. Some people believe that it was the one piece that began the Civil War in America -
Formation of the Republican Party
Formation of the Republican PartyThe Republican Party is the second oldest political party in America, second only to the Democrats. It was created in response to the Kansas Nebraska Act, which wanted slavery to expand along with a harsher economy. The Republicans opposed these ideas, and as a result battled it in the government. -
Kansas- Nebraska Act Passed
Kansas- Nebraska ActAfter a month of debate, the Kansas- Nebraska Act was passed on this day. This act created the states of Kansas and Nebraska. In turn, it was decided that the issue of whether or not these two states would be slave states or not would be left to be decided by each state themselves. The first reason that this act was introduced was to create more farms and to make possible and intercontinental railroad. -
"Border Ruffians" attack Lawrence
Border RuffiansThe Border Ruffians was a group of pro- slavery activists from Missouri looking to make the Kentucky territory open to slavery. Border Ruffians were forcing slavery onto Kansas with violence and various sneaky attacks. The attack of Lawrence resulted in a capture and a sacking of the Free- State capitol. -
Charles Sumner attacked
Charles SumnerCharles Sumner, a Northern congressman, was severely beaten almost to death by a Southern congressman (Preston Brooks) over the issue of slavery. The Kansas- Nebraska Act was passed two years before and it rose tensions immensely. Charles Sumner resorted to bashing the Southerners, and Brooks got a little carried away and became violent. It was a monumental moment in the events leading up to the Civil War. -
Pottawatomie Creek (5/24/1856)
Pottawatomie MassacreJohn Brown was one man who decided to end slavery with physical force. He gathered a tiny group of men and invaded Franklin County, Kansas. They killed five settlers and it was just one event that contributed to the collection of happenings called Bleeding Kansas. It came to be known as the Massacre of Pottawatomie -
Dred Scott Decision Announced
Dred ScottThe deliverance of the Court's final decision was on this day. This ecision was such a large part of American history and a contribution to the Civil War that many peoplet hink of it as a turning point of America. The Dred Scott Decision said that the federal government has no power over slavery in individual states and that African Americans were not protected by the U. S. Constitution and that they were not officially citizens, enslaved or free. -
Lincoln-Douglas Debates
Lincoln- Douglas DebatesThis was the day that the first Lincoln- Douglas Debate occurred. The Lincoln- Douglas Debates were a series of 7 debates held in 1858. The purpose of the debates was to gian control of the the legislature in Illinois. Together, they spoke in Ottowa, Freeport, Jonesboro, Charleston, Galesburg, Quincy and Alton. The debates went as follows: the first person would talk for 60 minutes, and then the other would follow up with a 90 minute speech, and it ended with the first person for 30 minutes. -
Raid at Harper's Ferry
Raid at Harper's FerryA man named John Brown decided to use force and violence to end slavery. He led 21 men quietly in the morning sun to Harper's Ferry where they tried as hard as they could to fight, but they were unsuccessful. Brown ended up hanged for murder and treason against Virginia on December 2 in 1859 -
Formation of Constitutional Union Party
Consitutional Union PartyThe creation of this party was by former Whigs who opposed slavery, but they wanted to avoid such debates. They also avoided subjects that led up to the Civil War, ultimately. -
Democrats Split in 1860
DemocratsBy the time the election came around in 1860, the Democrats had split into two separate parties. One party (Northern Democrats) opposed the spread of slavery while the other parth (Southern Democrats) wanted to continue the spread of slavery. Because of this split, more and more people were going to vote for Abraham Lincoln, who did not want slavery to continue spreading even though he was a republican. -
Election of 1860
1860 ElectionThe country of America was dramatically divided between the Northern, anti- slavery states and the Southern, pro- slavery states. Each section of the nation wanted one candidate or the other for his views on slavery and what should be done about it. Lincoln ran as a Republican while Breckinridge ran as a Democrat. Lincoln was against the spread of slavery, so he was popular in the North. Since the South began to divide into different groups and parties, the North's votes won out for Lincoln. -
Lecompton Constitution passed
Lecompton Constitution The Lecompton Constitution was written by pro- slavery advocates from Kansas. It was imtended to protect slaveholders and to prevent black slaves, or blacks in general, to have any freedoms or ways to escape slavery. It was rejected in the first election that it was presented in, but after some negotiation and compromise, it was finally passed in Kansas on this day.
