APUSHTHE10STEPSTOSECESSION

Wilmot Proviso

Declared that slavery should be banned in territories acquired from Mexico.

Compromise of 1850

Allowed California to join as a free state, enacted a stricter Fugitive Slave Act, and created Utah and New Mexico territories

Fugitive Slave Act

Required Northern states to assist in capturing runaway slaves, angering many Northerners.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin

Anti-slavery novel that increased Northern opposition to slavery and angered the South.

Kansas-Nebraska Act

Created Kansas and Nebraska with popular sovereignty to decide on slavery, leading to violence in Kansas.

Bleeding Kansas

Violent clashes between pro-slavery and anti-slavery groups in Kansas.

Republican Party

Political party formed to oppose the spread of slavery in the territories.

Dred Scott Decision

Supreme Court ruling that declared slaves were not citizens and Congress couldn’t ban slavery in the territories.

Lincoln-Douglas Debate

Series of debates focused on slavery between Illinois Senate candidates.

John Brown’s Raid on Harpers Ferry

Failed raid on a federal arsenal aimed at inciting a slave rebellion, led by an abolitionist.

Election of 1860

Election that prompted Southern states to begin seceding from the Union.

South Carolina

First state to secede from the Union in December 1860.

Panic of 1857

Banking crisis that worsened sectional economic divides, impacting the North more than the South.

Popular Sovereignty

Proposed that residents of a territory should vote to decide if slavery would be allowed.

Missouri Compromise

Abolished slavery north of the 36°30' line but was later nullified by the Kansas-Nebraska Act.