sectional conflict timeline

external slave trade ban

banned 20 years after the constitution

missouri compromise

• slave states below 36’30 latitude

• maintain ratio of slave to free states

• missouri → slave states

• maine → free state

• only applies to lousiana territory

• maintain balance of power in senate

the gag rule

• allowed congress to ignore/suspend petitions (especially slavery)

• eliminated 8 years later because it violated 1st amendment which said they had to address petitions

treaty of guadalupe-hidalgo

• mexico ceded land in the west for 15M

• raised questions abt territory organization (slavery v. free states)

• raised questions about senate divide (bc it had been equal since missouri compromise)

• CA wanted to be free

compromise of 1850

• compromise to resolve sectional tensions

• CA committed as free → tipped senate balance

• new mexico and utah citizens determine slave status

• slave trade banned in dc

• fugitive slave law of 1850 paid judges more if they said ppl were runaway slaves (stricter than before)

kansas-nebraska act

• northerns wanted railroad from chicago to run through northern state (south wants southern)

• douglass proposed compromise

  • nebraska split to nebraska and kansas then determine if they’re slave or free thru popular sovereignty

• repeals missouri act bc the states could be slave above 36’30

bleeding kansas

• resulted bc of failure of kansas-nebraska act

  • nebraska to be free and ppl wanted kansas to be free so they tried to manipulate the outcome

• prez saw kansas as slave territory and was manipulated into being slave state

• ppl in kansas only cared abt economic opportunity

• republican party forms to stop spread of slavery

• violence btwn political parties

bleeding sumner

• members from house of reps attacked senator sumner

• sumner became hero for northerners

• brooks (attacker) became hero for sotherners

• violence in kansas escalated to violence in senate

• US very divided over slavery (broken country)

dred scott vs. sandford and dred scott decision

• dred scott tried to appeal for his freedom bc he lived in free states

• supreme court ruling said black ppl didn’t have citizenship rights

  • declared misssouri compromise unconstitutional bc it overruled power of congress

  • 5th amendment protected slavery bc gov would have to compensate

• black ppl weren’t citizens

• congress can’t regulate salvery in territories

john brown’s raid on harpers ferry, virginia

• brown was a devoted abolitionist and planned to start a salve rebellion

• fought in bleeding kansas

• raided arsenal and took ppl hostages 

  • he was tried and executed

• believed violence was the only answer

• led to ppl becoming very worried about slave uprisings

  • huge sectional conflict increase bc north saw a martyr where south got fear (closer to civil war)