History Writing

Missouri Compromise (1820)

Key Figures:

• Henry Clay

Summary:
Missouri entered as a slave state and Maine as a free state. Slavery was banned north of the 36°30′ line.

Impact:
It kept balance for a short time but proved the country was already divided over slavery, setting up future conflicts.

Mexican-American War (1846–1848)

Key Figures:

• James K. Polk

• Zachary Taylor

Summary:
The U.S. defeated Mexico and gained large western territories.

Impact:
The new land caused arguments over whether slavery would expand west, increasing tension between North and South.

Compromise of 1850 (Fugitive Slave Act)

Key Figures:

• Henry Clay

• Daniel Webster

Summary:
California became a free state, and a strict Fugitive Slave Act required escaped enslaved people to be returned.

Impact:
The law angered Northerners and made many more strongly opposed to slavery, deepening sectional division.v

Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852)

Key Figures:

• Harriet Beecher Stowe

Summary:
A novel that showed the harsh realities of slavery.

Impact:
It increased anti-slavery feelings in the North and made the South feel attacked, worsening conflict.

Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)

Key Figures:

• Stephen A. Douglas

Summary:
Allowed settlers to vote on slavery (popular sovereignty), canceling the Missouri Compromise line.

Impact:
Led to chaos and violence as both sides rushed to control the territories, increasing hostility.

Bleeding Kansas (1854–1856)

Key Figures:

• John Brown

Summary:
Violent clashes between pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers in Kansas.

Impact:
Showed that compromise had failed and that the conflict over slavery had turned violent.

Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)

Key Figures:

• Dred Scott

Summary:
The Supreme Court ruled that enslaved people were not citizens and Congress could not ban slavery in territories.

Impact:
It outraged Northerners and strengthened Southern support for slavery, widening the divide.

Election of 1860

Key Figures:

• Abraham Lincoln

Summary:
Lincoln was elected president without support from Southern states.

Impact:
Southern states feared losing power and began to secede from the Union.

Attack on Fort Sumter (1861)

Key Figures:

• Abraham Lincoln

Summary:
Confederate forces attacked a U.S. fort in South Carolina.

Impact:
This started the Civil War, turning political conflict into actual fighting.

Secession

Key Figures:

• Abraham Lincoln

• Jefferson Davis

Summary (simple):
Secession means when a state leaves a country. After the Election of 1860, Southern states began leaving the United States and formed their own country called the Confederacy.

Impact (why it led to war):
Secession made the conflict serious and unavoidable. The North (Union) refused to accept states leaving, while the South insisted on independence. This disagreement directly led to fighting, starting with the attack on Fort Sumter.