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The Union in Peril
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Wilmot Proviso
Thi Wilmont Proviso was an added ammendment proposed by David Wilmont. It proposed that neither slavery nor involuntary servitude should exist in the land acquired from Mexico. This increased tensions between the North and the South. -
Free-Soil Party
The Free-Soil Party was a political party who opposed the extension of slavery into the territories. This showed how strongly the North opposed slavery and how far they would be willing to go to end it. -
Underground Railroad/Harriet Tubman
The Underground Railroad was a secret network of anti-slavery activists (abolitionists) and free slaves that helped slaves escape into the freedom of the North. This angered Southern slave owners. -
Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 was a Bill writen by Henry Clay to end the dispute between the North and South to settle whether the territory gained from Mexico should be slave or free territor. It was meant to maintain the Union of the States, but it only solved disputes for a short time. -
Popular Sovereigny
One of the erms proposed in the Compromise of 1850 that gave the residents of a territory the right to vote whether they wanted to be a slave state or a free state. This was popular to the both North and South. It allowed California to be admitted as a free state. -
Fugitive Slave Act
The Fugitive Slave Act was a law that allowed slave owners to take back escaped slaves without a trial by Jury. All that was needed was a description, and the slave could be returned. The act surprised and upset many Northerners with its harsh terms. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin/Harriet Beecher Stowe
A bestselling book that's message was more than a political struggle, but instead was about a moral struggle as well. It stirred strong reactions in both the North and the South. -
The Presidency of Franklin Pierce
Franklin Pierce was the 14th President and a Democrat. His election and presidency showed the destruction of the Whig party. It also revealed that the bonds between the North and South were continually and increasingly desintigrating. -
Stephen A. Douglas
A senator from Illinois that took over the run to pass to Compromise of 1850. He came up with the idea to pass terms of the Bill seperately rather than as a package. This was the reason that the Compromise of 1850 passed. It also helped to push the Civil War back. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
A Bill proposed by Stephen Douglas to allowe the Kansas and Nebraska territories to be allowed popular sovereignty (the right to vote on whether they wanted to be a free or slave territory). This increased tensions between the North and South. -
Republican Party
The Republican Party was a party formed by people opposed to slavery in both the territoes and in some of the Northern states. It was formally organized in Jackson, Michigan. The creation of this party showed the growing loathing of slavery. -
Know-Nothing Party
Members of the Know-Nothing Party were also members of the Order of the Star-Spangled Banner, who answered questions about their order with the response "I know nothing." his party opposed the Democratic party. -
Bleeding Kansas
After Kansas and Nebraska were divided and given popular sovereignty, horrible fighting broke out between anti-slavery and pro-slavery activists who wanted the "virgin soil" of Kansas. These battles left more than 200 people dead. Bleeding Kansas proved that slavery would eventually and had presently caused severe conflict. -
Preston Brooks and Charles Sumner
Charles Sumner was a Senator who gave passionate speeches against slavery and specifically against Andrew P. Butler and his views and actions. Preson Brooks was Butler's relative who beat Charles Sumner with a cane. This encounter show the nearing breaking point of pro and anti-slavery activists. -
The Presidency of James Buchanan
James Buchanan was a Democratic president from Pennsylvania who had been serving as an ambassador to England and missed the disputes over the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Due to this, he had less quarrel with Southerners. His presidency showed that the North was trying to compromise. -
Dred Scott vs. Sanford
This court case was an argument between a slave, Dred Scott, and his owner because his owner had moved Scott from slave territory into free territory. Scott argued that since slavery was not allowed in the area his owner moved him to, he should be a free man. The Supreme Court decided that Scott was not free because he was not and never would be a US citizen. Because of this decision, they also ruled the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional. This increase sectional passions and tensions. -
Freeport Doctrine
The Freeport Doctrine was Stephen Douglas' response to Lincoln's question of whether or not the citizens of a territory should vote regarding slavery before they became a state. Lincoln argued that, no, they could not so 'popular sovereingnty' was an empty phrase. Douglas' response was "Slavery cannot exist a day or an hour anywhere, unless it is supported by local police regulations." -
Raid on Harpers Ferry
On October 16, 1859, in order to attempt to start a slave raid and speak out against slavery, John Brown and 18 other men boarded Harpers Ferry in an attempt to seize the federal arsenal there. Brown failed in starting an uprise, several of his men were killed, and he was captured and later hanged for treason. Northerners felt his cause was noble and Southerners called him a murderer. Because of his actions, sectional division continued to become more severe. -
John Brown
John Brown was an anti-slavery fanatic that believed God had called on him to fight slavery. He boarded Harper's Ferry and killed five people and supposedly was going to try to start a slave uprising. This began a conflict between pro-slavery and anti-slavery activists. -
The Election of Abraham Lincoln
Though he faced many competators, Lincoln still won in his election. Lincoln had a strong sectional opinion in favor of the North. The future of the Union was in trouble. -
Formation of the Confederate States of America
After several Southern states seceeded from the Union, they banded together in Montgomery, Alabama to form their own Constitution and government. Their Constitution was much like the US Constitution, however it stated that slavery was to remain legal in the confederacy and that the confederacy would remain "sovereign and independent." These actions continued to put more stress on the Northerners and Southerners and further divided the once united country. -
Presidency of Jefferson Davis
Former senator Jefferson Davis was elected president of the Confederate States of America because of his strong standing point in the Northern vs. Southern conflict. He was clear that he would show the North how strong the South was and stated that the South would "offer no doubtful or divided front." These actions proved to the North how determined the South was, however it also made the North more upset at the Southern actions.
