events leading up to civil war

missouri compromise

The compromise admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state to balance power between the North and the South, and also forbade slavery in the Louisiana Purchase land north of a 36°30 parallel. This compromise led to tensions being eased temporarily between the North and the South because it prevented both sides from gaining more power than the other.

nullification crisis

This was a conflict between the U.S. Government and South Carolina. Andrew Jackson imposed tariffs on imported goods to protect Northern manufacturing from British goods, but the South, specifically South Carolina, opposed the tariffs because it benefitted the North. So, with the support of John C. Calhoun, he passed an ordinance declaring tariffs of 1828 and 1832 unconstitutional, and states can void federal laws if they deem them unconstitutional. This event led to more progress towards the Civil War since it created sectional tension between the states and the federal government. The South had distrust of federal power.

annexation of texas

The annexation of Texas was the process of which Texas became independent from Mexico for economic benefits. It entered as a slave state and its annexation helped start the Mexican-American War. This led to more land expansion towards the west, creating more debates about slavery and how to divide the land. This pushed the US to Civil War because they couldn’t organize new states without having conflict about which states become free or pro-slavery. 

mexican american war

The Mexican American War was a conflict between the US and Mexico. The conflict was about the southern borders of Texas. The president during the time, James K. Polk had a strong belief in Manifest Destiny which was to expand land across North America. President Polk sent troops to defend the territory of Texas which broke into battle at the Rio Grande river. This a major step towards the Civil War because of the debates and conflict over slavery within the new territories.

california gold rush

The California gold rush started when gold was discovered at Sutter’s Mill, California. Many people across the US moved to California for gold, gaining the nickname “Forty-Niners.” This greatly increased the population of California which led to it becoming a free state, ruining the balance of free and slave states. The gold rush increased economic development and westward expansion but also intensified national debates over slavery in new territories leading to the civil war. 

compromise of 1850

There were laws set after the Mexican-American war that California was going to be joining the US as a free state. This was also joined by the Fugitive Slave Act where if you were a runaway slave, citizens and slave owners would have the right to take you back to the South. There was also a law the abolished the slave trade but not slavery itself. This temporarily decreased conflict between the two but the South and North but still increased tension by the Fugitive Slave Act.

john brown massacre

On the night of May 24, 1856 John Brown massacred Pottawatomie in Kansas Territory. This was during the time of bleeding Kansas which there was conflict between pro-slavery and anti-slavery trying to decide if Kansas would be a free or slave state. John Brown was an abolitionist that was against slavery even if violence was necessary. Brown and his sons killed five pro-slavery men. Brown’s massacre sped up the process towards the civil war because southerners saw that northerners were willing to use violence creating a hostile atmosphere and showed that there were no more opportunities for peace. 

john brown raid

In October 1859, John Brown, an abolitionist against slavery, failed to start a slave rebellion while raiding a federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia with the intent to arm slaves. Brown failed because none of the slaves joined the rebellion, resulting in being captured by the U.S. Marines and being charged with treason. This sped up the process of the civil war because the south captured one of the North’s slave abolitionists and executed him.

election of 1860

Abraham Lincoln won the presidency because of his anti-slavery ideals. Lincoln winning made Southerners upset and they were convinced that they had lost all political power with the fear of losing slavery. After the election, southern states began to secede. This created the Confederacy and there was a national division, only creating more tension until war.

south carolina secedes

On December 20th, 1860, South Carolina declared itself independent from the U.S. after Abraham Lincoln’s election. South Carolina did this because they wanted to keep slavery, so they formed the Confederacy. This directly connects to the Civil War because it created a national division between the South and North, both preparing a militia and speeding up the progress towards war.