Compromise of 1850
established as an attempt to defuse the tension over slavery, especially with the new territories
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
1852- abolitionist book on the terrors of slavery, response to anti-slavery acts, upsets South
Kansas-Nebraska Act
1854- people in territories get to vote on slavery
Dred Scott decision
a slave who lives in free territory for 5 years and sues for his freedom, but loses because he is considered property, cannot sue, and is considered lower than whites
Harpers Ferry
John Brown seized Harpers Ferry, was captured, and hanged for treason; his goal was to seize weapons and end slavery
Election of 1860
Lincoln, Brekanridge, Bell, Douglas
Abraham Lincoln
Republican- free soilers (slavery is an economic issue)
Breckenridge
supports slavery heavily
Bell
wants peace and an end to war
Douglas
Northern Democrat; popular sovereignty
Emancipation Proclamation
proclaims that we are fighting over slavery, and no longer to preserve the Union
Post Civil War Amendments
13th, 14th, & 15th Amendments + civil rights act
13th Amendment
Abolishes slavery
14th Amendment
granting citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the U.S. and guaranteeing equal protection of the laws, due process, and privileges or immunities for all citizens against state infringement
15th Amendment
prohibits denying of voting rights based on race or color
Civil Rights Act
All citizens, regardless of race, are entitled to equal rights and protections, which include the right to make contracts, own property, and sue in court, as granted to freed slaves.
problem with the 13th Amendment
It wasn’t enforced well at all; many newly freed slaves were killed
transcontinental railroad
The first continuous rail line connecting the U.S. East and West Coasts; the South would benefit greatly and make lots of money
War economy in the North
Industrial capitalism boomed, fueled by wartime production, government support for railroads, and westward expansion
War economy in the South
faced devastating poverty, reliance on cotton, and a shift from slavery to sharecropping, struggling to rebuild its agricultural base and industry for decades
Sharecropping
where landowners allowed poor farmers to work plots of land in exchange for a share of the harvested crops
Eli Whittney
Invented the cotton gin to minimize slavery, but does the opposite
Pottawatomie Creek
John Brown’s followers kill 5 proslavery men, and these men counterattack (leading to civil war violence)
Charles Sumner’s attack
1856- Brooks beats Sumner nearly to death over disagreements on slavery
