The Events of 1850-1860

  • The Compromise of 1850

    The Compromise of 1850

    This series of laws tried to ease tensions between free and slave states. It included the Fugitive Slave Act which required citizens to help return escaped enslaved people.
  • Kansas-Nebraska Act

    Kansas-Nebraska Act

    Allowed new territories to decide on slavery by popular sovereignty
  • Bleeding Kansas

    Bleeding Kansas

    Violent clashes over whether Kansas would allow slavery
  • Preston Brooks vs. Charles Sumner

    Preston Brooks vs. Charles Sumner

    Brooks attacked Sumner in Congress after an anti-slavery speech
  • Dred Scott v. Sandford

    Dred Scott v. Sandford

    Supreme Court ruled enslaved people were property, not citizens
  • Lincoln-Douglas Debates

    Lincoln-Douglas Debates

    Debates over slavery during the Illinois Senate race
  • John Brown’s Raid on Harpers Ferry

    John Brown’s Raid on Harpers Ferry

    Attempted to start a slave rebellion
  • Election of Abraham Lincoln

    Election of Abraham Lincoln

    His anti-slavery stance led Southern states toward secession