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The Compromise of 1850 was created by Henry Clay, who introduced a series of resolutions. The bills were signed into law by president Milliard Fillmore between September 9th and September 20th. These bills included the Fugitive Slave Act (required that slaves be returned to their owners) and making California a state. -
The Kansas-Nebraska Act established the territories of Kansas and Nebraska, and allowed their residents to decide on the issue of slavery through a process called “popular sovereignty”. -
“Bleeding Kansas” was a serious of violent civil conflicts in the Kansas territory between 1854-1861. The issue was solely based on slavery. During this event, murder, mayhem, destruction, and physiological warfare took place. In conclusion a mini civil-war between pro and anti slavery people. -
Preston Brooks was a representative from South Carolina who supported slavery. Charles Sumner was a Senator and an abolitionist from Massachusetts. During the debate they had about slavery, Brooks got up and brutally beat Sumner to the floor with his cane. It left Sumner severely injured for three whole years, making him unable to return back to the Senate. -
The Dred Scott v. Sandford case was a 1857 U.S. Supreme Court decision that ruled people of African descent were not U.S. citizens, meaning they could not sue in federal court, and that Congress could not prohibit slavery in U.S. territories. The ruling invalidated the Missouri Compromise. -
The Lincoln-Douglas debates were a series of seven debates in 1858 between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas for an Illinois Senate seat, with the central topic being slavery's expansion into western territories. Lincoln was an anti-slavery believer, deeming it was morally wrong. Douglas, however, was a pro-slavery believer and thought territories should decide on slavery themselves. Even though Douglas won, Lincoln nationally grew more popular, paving his way to later on become President. -
An Abolisiontist named John Brown and a group of his supporters left their hide-out (a farmhouse) and travelled to Harper’s Ferry. There, Brown and his men kidnapped prominent citizens of the town, seizing the federal armory and arsenal. -
Abraham Lincoln was elected President of the United States. This scared the South because the Southern states feared that Lincoln would abolish slavery. This caused the South to separate, forming the Confederate States of America. This caused the Civil War.