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Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise was a law meant to balance the allowance of slavery in the states and keep peace between the northern and southern conflicting beliefs. It did this by prohibiting slavery in the Louisiana Purchase territory north of the 36°30' parallel with the expectation of Missouri, however, this only continued the divide between slave and free states. This was later repealed with the Kansas Nebraska Act in 1854 and deemed unconstitutional in the Dred Scott decision of 1857. -
Nat Turner Rebellion
The Nat Turner Rebellion was a group of slaves that escaped and killed Turner’s owner and family then continued on going house to house freeing other slaves and killing white people. They were eventually caught although this did cause fear within southern whites who then tightened slave codes. -
The Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 was a piece of legislation that included five laws meant to address tensions over slavery and territorial expansion. It included the admittance of California as a free state, it permitted slavery in D.C. but outlawed the slave trade there, let Utah and New Mexico decide on slavery through popular sovereignty, defined new Texas boundaries, and established the Fugitive Slave Act. -
The Fugitive Slave Act
A part of the Compromise of 1850, the Fugitive Slave Act required the return of escaped slaves to their owners even if they were in free states. They also denied them jury trial and increased punishment for anyone delaying capture or helping slaves escape. Northern states passed personal liberty laws in response to this in hopes of protecting freed slaves rights. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom’s Cabin was a novel written by Harriet Beecher Stowe that was meant to accurately display the harsh reality of a slave's life. It was an eye opening account for many and greatly fueled the abolitionist movement. It is often cited as a contributing factor to the Civil War as it fueled tensions between the north and south. -
The Kansas-Nebraska Act
The KA-NE act repealed the Missouri Compromise allowing Kansas and Nebraska to decide on slavery through popular sovereignty. This led to people going there to settle for brief periods of time in order to vote on slavery. “Border ruffians” were pro slavery settlers who would try to scare away others or sway their votes which eventually led to Bleeding Kansas. -
Dred Scott Decision
Dred Scott was an enslaved man who sued for his freedom claiming that since he was in a free state, he had to be freed from his owner. The SC ruled that black people weren’t and couldn’t be citizens of the U.S., they couldn't sue in federal court, and that Congress didn't have the power to ban slavery which invalidated the Missouri Compromise. This denied African Americans of their rights and only increased the contrasting opinions of the north and south leading eventually to the Civil War.