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Middle Passage
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Middle Passage
The Middle Passage was part of the Triangular Trade. The Triangular Trade was a system of trading routes that connected Europe, Africa, and the Americas. The middle passage was the route slaves took to get from Africa to America. On the journey, many slaves died. They were forced to live in cramped, dark, and unsanitary conditions. Disease and death were rampant. After arriving in America, many were sold off in slave auctions. Without this trading system, slavery wouldn't have been as important. -
Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise admitted Missouri to the union as a slave state under several conditions. The first condition was that Maine was to be granted statehood as a free state. The second was that no states north of 36'30' were to allow slavery. -
Nat Turner's Rebellion
Nat Turner was a slave that had escaped to freedom in the north. Soon, he went back to the south to help other slaves. With the help of other slaves, Nat led a rebellion. Nat and his accomplices killed around 60 white plantation owners and their families. As a result of this, 56 slaves were executed by the government and laws were passed preventing the education and gathering of slaves. -
Under Ground Railroad
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Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was a system of safe houses and "conductors" that helped escaped slaves reach freedom in the north. It involved many people that knew little of the entire operation to keep the slaves safe from slave hunters. One of the most famous conductors was Harriet Tubman, an escaped slave that returned to the south to try and help other slaves escape to freedom. -
Dred Scott Case
Dred Scott was a born a slave in 1799. His first owner died after and left him in the possession of Dr. John Emerson. After he died, all his slaves went to his wife, Irene. Scott had spent a lot of time in free states. Scott never tried to run to freedom. But, he tried to sue for his freedom because he had lived in free states for so long, that he should be considered free. He got denied the first time. When he went on trial again in 1850, he granted his freedom. It showed slaves could be free. -
Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 admitted California to the Union as a free state. It included the fugitive slave act. The compromise helped to soften tensions between the free and slave states, particularly on the status of the new territories (won in the Mexican-American War). It also outlawed the slave trade in D.C. -
Fugitive Slave Clause
The Fugitive Slave Clause was part of the Compromise of 1850. It was passed on September 18. It required slaves to be returned to their owners if found, even in free states. This clause was greatly hated in the North. It helped fuel the tension between the north and south. -
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin is an anti-slavery novel written by Harriet Stowe. It was published in 1852. It is an anti-slavery story inspired by the slave narrative The Life of Josiah Henson. It was a best-selling novel and was the second most printed book in the nineteen hundreds. It brought the horrors of slavery into the minds of the average American. Some credit the book with the beginning of the end of slavery. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act/Bleeding Kansas
The Kansas-Nebraska Act repealed the Missouri Compromise, created two new territories. It produced a violent uprising, known as "Bleeding Kansas", pro-slavery and anti-slavery activists came to the territories to try and sway the vote. Again, it caused raised tensions between states. -
John Brown’s Raid
John Brown’s Raid was a raid on the boat that lasted 2 days in October of 1859. John Brown was an abolitionist that hoped to start an uprising in the slave states. He planned to do this by taking over the US arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia. John Brown had to pay Hugh Forbes (the owner of the boat) 100 dollars a month for 6 months. Many historians call this the precursor, or dress rehearsal, for the Civil War. Even though it failed, the raid brought increased tension to the election. -
Emancipation Proclamation
Abraham Lincoln delivered Emancipation Proclamation during the Civil War. While it did end slavery, Lincoln still had the 13th Amendment, approved by Congress, to help certify the end of slavery. The proclamation declared the end of slavery in the United States. The Emancipation Proclamation is well known because it ended slavery in the USA.