Events Leading Up To Civil War
BY:Steve Koshy
The Compromise of 1850
This Compromise allowed the South to keep their slaves, but ended the slave trade in washington DC. The Slaves that escaped through the Underground Railroad, and went North, needed to be given back too. The State of California was made a free state by the US Congress. The Compromise also gave Texas ten million dollars to give up it's claims on New Mexico. The Compromise was mainly trying to deal with the slavery issue, and make the North and South happy. It is significant to the Civil War because it allows the South to keep slaves, but also stops slave trade in DC.
The Fugitive Slave Law of 1850
This law stopped all slave trade in the District of Columbia. Also all the slaves that escaped or ran away to the North or Canada must be given back. The slaves that ran away using the Underground Railroad, and ran away to the North must also be given back to the rightful owners, in the South. It also says that Texas is now a free state, just like what it said in the Compromise of 1850. It was significant to the Civil War because it brings all the escaped slaves in the North back to the South.
The Dred Scott Decision of 1857
In March of 1857 The United States Supreme Court, declared that all slaves, whether free or not, will never be United States citizens. The court also declared the 1820 Missouri Compromise unconstitutional, which permits slavery in all of the country's territories. This also had to do with a Dred Scott car, he was a slave that was trying to be free, through the Supreme Court. This relates to the War, because the south wants their slaves to be considered citizens and now they can't be.
The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854
The Kansas-Nebraska Act, Nebraska was split into two states, Kansas and Nebraska. Now Kansas and Nebraska are now neither Confederate nor Union. The United States is letting the Territory legislatures choose. On January in 1861 Kansas entered the US as a Union state. This relates to the Civil War because now two more states have joined and now there is more arguments, More states means more arguments and that will lead to a war.
John Brown's Raid of 1859
On October 16, 1859 John Brown took many slaves and men who believed slaver was wrong. They raided the Federal Arsenal in Virginia but Brown's men were outnumbered and overpowered. Many of his men were captured or killed, and they did all of this because they hated the idea of slavery and they wanted to end. they didn't want anyone to stop them. Brown probably knew that his plan would not work very well, but he was very dedicated and he was a very religious person. This relates to the Civil War because Brown and his men did this because of slavery and the Civil war was about slavery.