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February 2nd, 1848:
At the end of the American Mexican War, Mexico loses and gives the California and New Mexico territories up. They also accept the Rio Grande as the Texan border. This will start sectionalism at it adds new states to the US that will have to be divided between free and slave states, causing a bigger gap between the two.

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1848 - 1854
The Free Soil Party was a political party in the U.S. that liked the idea of expanding to western territories but opposed the idea of having slavery in those territories. This will cause divisions in the U.S. because at that time many of the states out west were under the 36 30 line that was set in the missouri compromise.

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General Zachary Taylor is elected to be the next president of the US. He would be a big help in stopping the expansion of slavery in the US. His death in 1850 would cause a heated debate in the country that would lead to the civil war.

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January 29th, 1850:
California would enter as a free state. Slavery would be decided upon Utah and New Mexico as they joined. Stronger fugitive slave laws were enacted. Slave trade in the District of Columbia would be banned. This only divided the nation even more with new states now having to make a choice between slavery or not.

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September 18th, 1850:
This act required escaped slaves to be returned to their owners, even if they were in a free state. This act also made the federal government in charge of finding and returning the escaped slaves. This caused the North to now have to be responsible in returning slaves despite the fact that they were anti-slavery.

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Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe 

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Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe 

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Uncle Tom's Cabin is a book that was published in 1852. It is an anti-slavery book that centers around the harsh treatment of slaves. This will cause a division in the people and the abolitionist movement will take hold in many places. This will then split the U.S. into anti-slavery and pro-slavery groups.

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November 2nd, 1852:
Franklin Pierce would be the President who would sign the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which would end up failing miserably and would be a major cause of the American Civil War. This act and the events that followed are considered by some historians the start of the American Civil War.

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May 30th, 1854:
The Kansas-Nebraska Act made it so that 2 states were created and the states could choose it they wanted slavery or not. This would split the country because the two states created are above the 36 30 line set by the Missouri compromise and so they should be free states. Because of them getting to pick there were many fights between pro-slavery groups and anti-slavery groups which gave Kansas the name Bloody Kansas.

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October 12th, 1853:
The party was birthed in order to combat the expansion of Slavery into American Territories. Many Northerners would support the party and it would cause a even larger political split between the North and South.

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Because of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, there were many fights that broke out in Kansas between 1855 and 1859. It was a fight between anti-slavery groups and pro-slavery groups. This caused conflict between the North and the South since the North was mostly anti-slavery and the South was pro-slavery.

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May 22nd, 1856:
Representative Preston Brooks, a democrat from South Carolina who supported slavery, entered the Senate Chamber and attacked Senator Charles Sumner, a Republic from Massachusetts. This event would cause a polarization over the issue of slavery and would be looked at as a reason the Civil War ended up being so violent.

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November 4th 1856:
James Buchanan was the 15th president of the United States. He is known for being a pacifist and not taking sides with the North and the South. This would cause the North and the South to not resolve their issues and there would be fighting on both sides.

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March 6th, 1857:
The Supreme Court would declare that former slaves did not have standing in federal courts as they were still not US citizens despite the fact they were free. They also declared the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional and upheld slavery in US territories. Now the Americans were divided between pro and anti slavery even more.

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in 1857 the Lecompton Constitution was written by the pro-slavery group to end the conflict in Kansas. However it allowed slavery in the state and the anti-slavery didn't like that. It was a controversial act because many people in kansas didn't want slavery. Tensions would rise between the anti-slavery group and the pro-slavery group.

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October 16th, 1859 - October 18th, 1859:
John Brown, an abolitionist, would lead a small group to raid a federal army in Harper's Ferry Virginia. The goal being be too start an armed revolt of enslaved peoples to destroy the institution of slavery. The raid would fail but would cause public outrage and raised stakes in the upcoming election. This raid made the civil war imminent and would be a major cause of the war.

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November 6th, 1860:
Abraham Lincoln is elected as president competing against 4 different parties. This election highlights the divisions in America and would cause 7 Southern states to secede before the inauguration and the secession of 4 more Southern states would follow. Abraham would strengthen the Republican Party during this election but the rest of America is now officially divided as they try to leave the United States.

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December 20th 1860:
After Lincoln won the election in 1860 many southerners got mad because there was no southern vote in the Electoral College. Because of that many southern states began to have secession conventions. It was on december 20th 1860, South Carolina became the first state to secede from the union and many southern states would follow. South Carolina seceded from the union so they can keep slavery and this would play a part in starting the Civil War.

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December 18th, 1860:
A proposal was made to permanently enshire slavery in the Constitution, making future removal of slavery against the constitution. This would fail but would show a divide between the states Pro and Anti slavery positions. The American Civil War would break out a couple months later.