civil war timeline identifications

8/6/2019 Civil War Timeline Identifications

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Ashley Fleming

US History I Honors

Identifications

Compromise of 1850- (September 1850)

In 1850, debate over the spread of slavery and territories broke out in the

Capitol. They were both issues that could separate the Union. First, the United States had

acquired territory, and questions arose whether or not to allow slavery in the new land.

California petitioned to enter the Union as a free state. By doing this, they would upset the

balance that the Missouri Compromise had established. Texas claimed that its land extended

all the way to Santa Fe, and Washington DC not only allowed slavery, but was the largest slave

market in North America. On January 29, 1850, Henry Clay proposed a compromise in which

Texas would not get the land, but instead 10 million dollars that it could use to pay off its debt

to Mexico. The slave trade would be abolished in Washington DC, and California would be

admitted as a free state. In addition, the Fugitive Slave Act was passed, which suited those who

objected to the imbalance created by the addition of another free state. Although the

Compromise of 1850 kept the union united, the country still faced issues about slavery that

divided the nation.

Kansas Nebraska Act- (May 30, 1854)

The initial purpose of the Kansas Nebraska Act in 1854 was to create opportunities for a

railroad. When the act was passed, it stated that settlers could decide whether to allow slavery

in their state. By doing this, the balance between free and slave states should be kept between

the North and the South. The act created Kansas and Nebraska territories, opened new lands

to settles, got rid of the conditions of the Missouri Compromise, and allowed settlers to choose

to be free or slave states. T hose in opposition to the act claimed that the law was a concession

to the slave power of the South. The new Republican Party set out to stop the expansion of

slavery.

The Birth of the Republican Party- (February 1854?)

After the Missouri Compromise, the country was divided between pro-slavery and anti-

slavery states. The states, however, accepted the division and an uneasy peace was

established. In 1854, the Kansas-Nebraska disturbed that peace by letting settler choose to be

free or slave states. Leaders in the North became unhappy watching pro-slavery settlers flood

in and upset the balance. They decided that a new party was needed, and so spontaneous



demonstrations occurred right after the Appeal of Independent Democrats was published.

The first Republican Party meeting was in Wisconsin in 1854, and later in Michigan. The first

organizing convention in Pittsburgh occurred on February 22, 1856. The first nominating

convention, in Pennsylvania, in 1856 announced the birth of the Republican Party.

The Release of Uncle Toms Cabin written by Harriet Beecher Stowe- (March 20, 1852)

Harriet Beecher Stowe, an abolitionist, was a teacher at the Hartford Female Academy

in Connecticut. She wrote Uncle Toms Cabin in 1852, an anti-slavery novel that shows the

reality of slavery and the power of Christian love to overcome it. The book revolves around a

black slave, Uncle Tom, and the stories of slaves and slave owners around him. After the Bible,

Uncle Toms cabin is the second best-selling book of the 19th century, and is considered the

best-selling novel of the same century. Many attribute the book with fueling the abolitionist

movement in the 1850s and helping to lay the groundwork for the Civil War.

Bleeding Kansas- (1854-1858)

In the United States, there was long struggle over balancing free and slave states. After

the Kansas-Nebraska Act nullified the Missouri Compromise, popular sovereignty was instilled,

which meant states could choose to support or abolish slavery. Because of this decision,

tension arose in Kansas whether or not to enter the Union as a free or slave state. Violent

events broke out between anti-slavery Free States and pro-slavery Border Ruffian along the

western frontier of Missouri and in Kansas Territory. These events were a proxy war between

the North and the South. The term Bleeding Kansas was term created by a writer for the New

York Tribune, Horace Greeley. Kansas was admitted to the Union as a free sate, three months

before the beginning of the Civil War at Fort Sumter.

The Beating of Charles Sumner- (May 22, 1856)

Charles Sumner of Massachusetts was a lawyer, an orator, a leader of antislavery forces,

an American politician, and a statesman. Sumner was also a leader of the Radical Republicans

in the United States during the Civil War and Reconstruction. He wanted to punish ex-

Confederates and guarantee equal rights to the Freedmen. Sumner worked closely with

Abraham Lincoln, keeping British and French from intervening on the s ide of the Confederacy

and attempted to destroy slave owners who tried to take control of the federal government.

Preston Brooks, a South Carolina Representative beat Sumner in 1856, hitting him in the head

with a cane and leaving him on the Senate floor. Sumer came back to the Senate after years of

therapy and continued working to abolish slavery, fighting to provide equal civil and voting

rights, and blocking ex-Confederates from power.



The Dred Scott Decision (Dred Scott v Sandford)- (March 6, 1857)

Dred Scott was a Missouri slave who sued for his freedom after the death of his original

owner, who had taken him for an extended residence during the 1830s in the free states of

Illinois and Wisconsin. Scott and his lawyers argued that this residence made him a free man.

The 1857 Dred Scott decision was written by Chief Justice Roger B. Taney. The U.S. SupremeCourt case ruled that people of African descent that came to the United States as slaves were

not protected by the Constitution, nor could they be U.S. citizens. In addition, the court ruled

that Congress could not prohibit slavery in federal territories because slaves could not sue in

court. Not only that, but the court also ruled that since slaves were private property, due

process was necessary to take them from their owners. As a result of this case, the Republican

Party rose above the Whig Party.

Lincoln-Douglas Debates- (August 1858-October 1858)

Abraham Lincoln, the Republican candidate for Senate in Illinois, and Senator StephenDouglas, the Democratic Party candidate agreed to a series of debates in seven of the nine

congressional districts in Illinois in 1858. Since U.S. senators were elected by state legislatures,

Lincoln and Douglas were trying to win control of the Illinois legislature. The men decided that

they would alternate speaking, the first candidate speaking, then the second, then the first

again with a rebuttal. The debates, centered on slavery, drew huge crowds and press. Although

Lincoln lost the election for Senator, he edited all of the transcribed debates and had them

published in a book. The book, along with the initial coverage of the debates played a key role

in Lincolns nomination for President of the United States by the 1860 Republican National

Convention.

John Browns Raid at Harpers Ferry- (October 16-18, 1859)

In 1794, George Washington selected the site of Harpers Ferry in Virginia as the location

for a federal arsenal. In 1859, John Brown, a white abolitionist attempted to seize this arsenal

at Harpers Ferry. He had set up residence nearby, and trained a group of twenty-two men. On

the night of October 16, Brown and his men marched into Harpers Ferry, capturing watchmen.

In order to be successful, Browns men needed to capture the weapons and escape before

word got the Washington, D.C. However, a train passing reached Baltimore and contacted

authorities in Washington. Not only that, but Brown expected to start an armed slave revolt in

which slaves would raise up against their masters and join the raid. Instead, the townspeople

began to shoot at the raiders. The already failing plan was foiled by a detachment of U.S.Marines led by Col. Robert E. Lee. The actions of Brown's men brought national attention to

the emotional divisions concerning slavery.

The Election of Abraham Lincoln- (November, 1860)



After the 1858 Lincoln-Douglas Debate, Abraham Lincolns political profile was

heightened. In late 1859, Lincoln was invited to give a speech in New York City. His speech,

denouncing slavery and the spread of it, made Lincoln popular overnight in New York City. At a

Republican Party convention in May of 1860, William Seward, a senator from New York who

was anti-slavery, was considered the favorite for nomination. Those who supported Lincolnassumed that if Seward could not win the nomination on the first ballot, Lincoln could obtain

votes on later ballots. The supporters were right, and Lincoln won the nomination, making him

the Republican nomine. In the 1860 election, the Democratic Party split into two factions. The

northern Democrats nominated Lincolns rival, Senator Stephen A. Douglas. The southern

Democrats nominated John C. Breckenridge, the incumbent vice president. Those did not

support either party formed the Constitutional Union Party and nominated John Bell of

Tennessee. The presidential election was held on November 6, 1860. Lincoln did very well in

the northern states, and though he had less than 40 percent of the popular vote nationwide, he

won a landslide victory in the Electoral College. The 1860 election proved one of the most

momentous in American history at it came at a time of national crisis, and brought Abraham

Lincoln to the White House. Following the election, the Civil War began the next month.

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