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Core Cause of Sectional Crisis

Slavery shaped the political conflicts between North and South leading to the Civil War.

Missouri Crisis (1819-1820)

The first clear moment of division over whether slavery would expand westward.

Abolitionist Movement

A movement led by figures like William Lloyd Garrison that sparked fierce backlash from the South.

Positive Good Defense

Justification by the South claiming slavery benefitted both enslavers and enslaved people.

Gag Rule of 1836

Blocked antislavery petitions in Congress, showcasing the power of slaveholders.

Slave Power Conspiracy

The belief that enslavers manipulated the federal government to protect and expand slavery.

Wilmot Proviso

An 1846 proposal to ban slavery in territory acquired from Mexico, showing national division.

Fugitive Slave Law

Part of Compromise of 1850; mandated Northern participation in the enforcement of slavery.

Bleeding Kansas

Violent conflict between proslavery and antislavery factions in Kansas.

Republican Party Formation

A political party formed in direct opposition to the expansion of slavery.

Dred Scott Decision (1857)

Supreme Court ruling that denied citizenship to Black Americans and allowed slavery in territories.

Southern Secession (1860-1861)

The act of states leaving the Union explicitly to protect slavery after Lincoln's election.

Emancipation Proclamation (1863)

Lincoln's declaration that transformed the Civil War into a fight against slavery.

Impact of Emancipation

Led to family reunification and efforts to secure rights for formerly enslaved people.

Reconstruction

The period after the Civil War that forced the nation to confront issues of citizenship and equality.