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In 1787, under the Articles of Confederation, the U.S. government passed this law that outlawed slavery in the Northwest Territory of the United States. It was the time in our country that slavery was banned.

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In 1820, when Missouri was set to enter the Union, the question that troubled many politicians was whether Missouri would be a slave state or a free state.  At the time, there were an equal  number of slave and free states, which mean there were an equal number of men in the Senate from slave and free states.  Either way, Missouri's statehood would upset the balance of power in the Senate.
The solution was the passage of the Missouri Compromise:  Missouri would enter the country as a slave state and Maine would enter the country as a free state, thus maintaining the balance of power in the Senate. Also, a line would be 'drawn' along the southern border of Missouri and in the future all new states above that line would be free.

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In 1850, California's entrance as a state brings the same concern as Missouri's did back in 1820 but the problem is there are no other territories ready to enter the country to maintain the balance of power in the Senate.
Here is the compromise:
1. California will be free
2.No more slave trade in Washington, D.C.
3.  A new, tougher Fugitive Slave law will be passed
4. The lands that were part of the Mexican Cession will decide the issue of slavery by popular soveriegnty. (which means the people will vote on it)

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Click above to watch a short video.

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American Experience
Clip: Season 25 Episode 12 | 2m 19s

The Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 made the hunting down of escaped slaves, even in free states, fully legal. To abolitionists, this represented a huge blow to their efforts. Not only had the federal government endorsed slavery, but it had also committed to preserving the institution indefinitely.

Aired: 01/08/13

Rating: NR

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American Experience | Fugitive Slave Act | Season 25 | Episode 12 | PBS

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American Experience Clip: Season 25 Episode 12 | 2m 19s The Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 made the hunting down of escaped slaves, even in free states, fully legal. To abolitionists, this represented a huge blow to their efforts. Not only had the federal government endorsed slavery, but it had also committed to preserving the institution indefinitely.

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When Kansas wanted to enter the country as a state in 1954, the slavery question once again surfaced.  Would Kansas be slave or free?   Another compromise solved this dilemma:  popular sovereignty would be used to decide the question of slavery in the Kansas and Nebraska Territories.

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Violence that erupted in Kansas Territory over the passage of the Kansas Nebraska Act and the use of popular sovereignty to decide the issue of slavery. Watch the video for a more detailed explanation.

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A book written by Harriet Beecher Stowe that led more people to see slavery as a moral issue, not an economic one. It 'opened the eyes' of many northerners and angered the South, who claimed that it unfairly showed the treatment of enslaved people.

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Senator Charles Sumner, an abolitionist, was attacked in the Senate with a cane because of an anti-slavery speech he gave and for insulting a Southern senator.  He almost died.

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Dred Scott was an enslaved man who sued for his freedom after being taken to the North by his owner.
The case went all the way to the Supreme Court.  The decison was extremely important:
1.  The Court says that enslaved people are not citizens and therefore, cannot be free or have rights
2.  Congress actually has no power to decide if slavery is allowed or not in the territories.
This now means that slavery can be everywhere if the people in the territories vote and agree to it. (popular sovereignty)

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Both Abraham Lincoln and Senator Stephen Douglas are competing for Douglas's Senate seat in 1858.  Lincoln is a Republican who is against the expansion of slavery and Douglas is a Northern Democrat who supports Popular Soveriegnty to decide the issue of slavery in the territories.  They debate all over the state of Illinois and even though Lincoln loses, it makes him known well enough to beat Douglas for the Presidency 2 years later.

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John Brown's Raid on Harper's Ferry 1859

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John Brown's Raid on Harper's Ferry 1859

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John Brown was a violent abolitionist who had  a plan to steal weapons from the U.S. Federal Arsenal in Harpers Ferry, Virginia and ride into the South, arming the enslaved men and women and letting them free themselves by force.
He is caught and hanged.
The north sees him a s a martyr (someeone willing to die for their beliefs) and the South sees him as a terrorist.
Tensions between the North and South increase dramatically.

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Lincoln wins!!!
Republicans nominate Lincoln
Democrats split.....
Northern Democrats select Stephen Douglas (popular soveriegnty)
Southern Democrats nominate John Breckenridge (protect slavery)
With the split in the Democratic party, the Republicans win the most electoral votes and Lincoln becomes President. This is the final event before the South begins to break away from the country in order to maintain their right to own enslaved humans.