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Date: 1812-1816
Description: A destiny for America to be the best it can be and God's plan for all. It was also to broaden democracy and make our world united once again. People with this destiny in mind began making their way to the West for new life.
Citations: Mrs. Sisk Notes

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Manifest Destiny Explained in 5 Minutes: US History Review

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Date: February 2, 1848
Description: This treaty took away half of Mexico and the U.S. doubled its size after this treaty was signed
Citations: “Lasting Effects of the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo.” National Parks Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, https://www.nps.gov/teachers/classrooms/lasting-effects-of-the-treaty-of-guadalupe-hidalgo.htm.

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The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, signed on February 2, 1848, ended the Mexican-American War in favor of the United States. The war had begun almost two years earlier, in May 1846, over a territorial dispute involving Texas. The treaty added an additional 525,000 square miles to United States territory, including the land that makes up all or parts of present-day Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. Mexico also gave up all claims to Texas and recognized the Rio Grande River as America's southern boundary.
WATCH: The Mexican Revolution on HISTORY Vault
Mexican-American War: 1846-1848

On May 13, 1846, the U.S. Congress voted in favor of President James Polk's request to declare war on Mexico in a dispute over Texas. Under the threat of war, the United States had refrained from annexing Texas after the latter won independence from Mexico in 1836.

But in 1844, President John Tyler restarted negotiations with the Republic of Texas, culminating with a treaty of annexation.

Did you know? During his presidency, James Polk managed another important land acquisition, this time without a war, when his administration diplomatically settled a border dispute with the British and gained control of the present-day states of Washington, Oregon and Idaho, plus parts of Montana and Wyoming.

The treaty was defeated by a wide margin in the U.S. Senate because it would upset the slave state-free state balance between North and South and risked war with Mexico, which had broken off relations with the United States.

But shortly before leaving office and with the support of President-elect Polk, Tyler managed to get a congressional resolution passed and then, on March 1, 1845, signed into law. Texas was admitted to the union on December 29 of that year.

While Mexico didn't follow through with its threat to declare war, relations between the two nations remained tense over border disputes, and in July 1845, President Polk ordered troops into disputed lands that lay between the Nueces and Rio Grande rivers.

In November, Polk sent the diplomat John Slidell to Mexico to seek boundary adjustments in return for the U.S. government's settlement of the claims of American citizens against Mexico and to make an offer to purchase California and New Mexico.

After the mission failed, the U.S. Army under General Zachary Taylor advanced to the mouth of the Rio Grande, the river that the state of Texas claimed as its southern boundary.

Mexico, claiming that the boundary was the Nueces River to the north of the Rio Grande, considered the advance of Taylor's army an act of aggression and in April 1846 sent troops across the Rio Grande. Polk, in turn, declared the Mexican advance to be an invasion of U.S. soil, and on May 11, 1846, asked Congress to declare war on Mexico, which it did two days later, starting the Mexican-American War.
WATCH: The Struggle for Mexican Independence
Mexico Surrenders

Following the defeat of the Mexican army and the fall of Mexico City in September 1847, the Mexican government surrendered and peace negotiations began. The war officially ended with the February 2, 1848, signing in Mexico of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.

The treaty added an additional 525,000 square miles to United States territory, including the land that makes up all or parts of present-day Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.

Mexico also gave up all claims to Texas and recognized the Rio Grande as America's southern boundary. In return, the United States paid Mexico $15 million and agreed to settle all claims of U.S. citizens against Mexico.

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo: Aftermath

Although Polk's war was successful, he lost public support after nearly two bloody and costly years of fighting. Additionally, the controversial war reignited the slavery extension debate that would ultimately result in the Civil War in the 1860s.

Polk did not seek re-election after his first term, and died at age 53 in June 1849, three months after leaving office. Zachary Taylor, who became a national hero during the Mexican-American War, ran for president in the 1848 election and won. However, 16 months after his inauguration, Taylor became ill and died.

Sources

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848). National Archives.
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Library of Congress: Hispanic Reading Room.
On this day, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo is signed. National Constitution Center.

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The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, signed on February 2, 1848, ended the Mexican-American War in favor of the United States. The war had begun almost two years earlier, in May 1846, over a territorial dispute involving Texas.

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Date: August 8th, 1846
Description: The Wilmot Proviso is declaring no slavery is to be established by any area taken by the Us from Mexico
Citations: “Take Online Courses. Earn College Credit. Research Schools, Degrees & Careers.” Study.com | Take Online Courses. Earn College Credit. Research Schools, Degrees & Careers, https://study.com/academy/lesson/wilmot-proviso-of-1846-definition-summary-significance.html.

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Date: January 29, 1850
Description: The compromise of 1850 was California entering as a free state which angered the South because it threw off the balance of free and slave states. This then gave voters the popular vote on whether their state was free or not this was known as popular sovereignty.
Citations: Mrs. Sisk Notes

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The Compromise of 1850 Explained: US History Review

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Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, Shoreline Drive, Harpers Ferry, WV, USA

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Date: Oct 16, 1859 – Oct 18, 1859
Description: This Raid was John Browns Idea of trying to capture the worlds army by raiding their meeting in West Virginia
Citations: “John Brown's Raid on Harpers Ferry.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 13 Nov. 2009, https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/john-browns-raid-on-harpers-ferry.

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Uncle Tom's Cabin Historic Site, Uncle Toms Road, Dresden, ON, Canada

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Dates: June 5, 1851
Description: Uncle Toms Cabin is a novel written by Tom an enslaved man who writes about the hardships the whites are putting these people through. Once this novel is published and writers read this they start to gain a different view on slavery.
Citations: “Uncle Tom's Cabin.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 14 Dec. 2021, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncle_Tom%27s_Cabin.

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The True Story Behind 'Uncle Tom's Cabin,' The Book that Rocked Pre-Civil War America

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Dates: March 6, 1857
Description: This is the first case where a slave's case gets brought up in court. This case is Dred Scott suing for his right to freedom. But quickly gets defeated by the fact of the court declaring slaves are citizens of America nor free to outlaw their own case of slavery.
Citations: Mrs. Sisk Notes

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Who Was Dred Scott?

Dred Scott was born into slavery around 1799 in Southampton County, Virginia. In 1818, he moved with his owner Peter Blow to Alabama, then in 1830 he moved to St. Louis, Missouri-both slave states-where Peter ran a boarding house.

After Blow died in 1832, army surgeon Dr. John Emerson purchased Scott and eventually took him to Illinois, a free state, and then to Fort Snelling in Wisconsin Territory where the Missouri Compromise had outlawed slavery. There, Scott married Harriet Robinson, also enslaved, in a rare civil ceremony; her owner transferred ownership of Harriet to Emerson.

In late 1837, Emerson returned to St. Louis but left Dred and Harriet Scott behind and hired them out. Emerson then moved to Louisiana, a slave state, where he met and married Eliza (Irene) Sandford in February 1838; Dred Scott soon joined them.

Did you know? Dred Scott, along with several members of his family, was formally emancipated by his owner just three months after the Supreme Court denied them their freedom in the Dred Scott decision.

In October 1838, Emerson, his wife Irene and their enslaved workers returned to Wisconsin. After the army honorably discharged Emerson in 1842, he and Irene returned to St. Louis with Scott and his family (which now included two daughters), but they struggled to find success and soon moved to Iowa. It's unclear if Scott and his family accompanied them or stayed in St. Louis to be hired out.

John Emerson died suddenly in 1843 in Iowa, and his enslaved workers became Irene's property. She returned to St. Louis to live with her father and hired out Scott and his family. Scott tried multiple times to purchase his freedom from Irene, but she refused.

For unknown reasons, Dred and Harriet Scott never tried to run away or sue for freedom while living in or traveling through free states and territories.

Dred Scott v. Sandford

In April 1846, Dred and Harriet filed separate lawsuits for freedom in the St. Louis Circuit Court against Irene Emerson based on two Missouri statutes. One statute allowed any person of any color to sue for wrongful enslavement. The other stated that any person taken to a free territory automatically became free and could not be re-enslaved upon returning to a slave state.

Neither Dred nor Harriet Scott could read or write and they needed both logistical and financial support to plead their case. They received it from their church, abolitionists and an unlikely source, the Blow family who had once owned them.

Since Dred and Harriet Scott had lived in Illinois and the Wisconsin Territory - both free domains - they hoped they had a persuasive case. When they went to trial on June 30, 1847, however, the court ruled against them on a technicality and the judge granted a retrial.

The Scotts went to trial again in January 1850 and won their freedom. Irene appealed the case to the Missouri Supreme Court which combined Dred and Harriet's cases and reversed the lower court's decision in 1852, making Dred Scott and his family enslaved again.

In November 1853, Scott filed a federal lawsuit with the United States Circuit Court for the District of Missouri. By this time, Irene had transferred Scott and his family to her brother, John Sandford (although it was determined later that she retained ownership). On May 15, 1854, the federal court heard Dred Scott v. Sandford and ruled against Scott, holding him and his family in slavery.

In December 1854, Scott appealed his case to the United States Supreme Court. The trial began on February 11, 1856. By this time, the case had gained notoriety and Scott received support from many abolitionists, including powerful politicians and high-profile attorneys. But on March 6, 1857, in the infamous Dred Scott decision, Scott lost his fight for freedom again.

Chief Justice Roger Taney

Roger Taney was born into the southern aristocracy and became the fifth Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court.

Taney became best known for writing the final majority opinion in Dred Scott v. Sandford, which said that all people of African descent, free or enslaved, were not United States citizens and therefore had no right to sue in federal court. In addition, he wrote that the Fifth Amendment protected slave owner rights because enslaved workers were their legal property.

The decision also argued that the Missouri Compromise legislation - passed to balance the power between slave and non-slave states - was unconstitutional. In effect, this meant that Congress had no power to prevent the spread of slavery.

Despite Taney's long tenure as a Supreme Court justice, people vilified him for his role in the Dred Scott v. Sandford decision. In an ironic historical footnote, Taney would later swear in Abraham Lincoln, the "Great Emancipator," as president of the United States in 1861.

Dred Scott Wins His Freedom

By the time the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its Dred Scott decision, Irene had married her second husband, Calvin Chaffee, a U.S. congressman and abolitionist. Upset upon learning his wife still owned the most infamous slave of the time, he sold Scott and his family to Taylor Blow, the son of Peter Blow, Scott's original owner.

Taylor freed Scott and his family on May 26, 1857. Scott found work as a porter in a St. Louis hotel, but didn't live long as a free man. At about 59 years of age, Scott died from tuberculosis on September 17, 1858.

Dred Scott Decision: Impact on Civil War

The Dred Scott Decision outraged abolitionists, who saw the Supreme Court's ruling as a way to stop debate about slavery in the territories. The divide between North and South over slavery grew and culminated in the secession of southern states from the Union and the creation of the Confederate States of America. The Emancipation Proclamation of September 22, 1862 freed enslaved people living in the Confederacy, but it would be another three years until Congress passed the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery in the United States.

Sources

Missouri State Archives: Missouri's Dred Scott Case, 1846-1857. Missouri Digital Heritage.
Primary Documents in American History: Dred Scott v. Sandford. The Library of Congress.
Roger B. Taney. United States Senate.
The Dred Scott Case. National Park Service.

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Dred Scott Case - Decision, Definition & Impact

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In the Dred Scott case, or Dred Scott v. Sanford, the Supreme Court ruled that no enslaved person could claim U.S. citizenship or petition a court for their freedom.

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Dates: September 22, 1862-January 1, 1863
Description: The Emancipation Proclamation was the Proclamation to set all slaves free escaped or not. This was also the last attempt Lincoln used to try and keep South Carolina in the Union.
Citations: Mrs. Sisk Notes

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The Emancipation Proclamation: The Civil War in Four Minutes

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Dates: November 15-December 21, 1864
Description: Sherman's March was to him a march to show victory and power to the South and that the North was powerful enough to defeat anyone. Sherman believed "All War is Hell" meaning he wasn't going to back down and the war wasn't going to be peaceful or easy. Tore up land up to 60 miles wide.
Citations: Mrs. Sisk Notes

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Dates: April 12, 1861 – April 9, 1865

Description: The North had advantages in the industrial area that included quicker firearm producing rate and more railroads to transport war materials and soldiers
Citations: “Strengths and Weaknesses: North vs. South.” Ushistory.org, Independence Hall Association, https://www.ushistory.org/US/33b.asp#:~:text=The%20South's%20greatest%20strength%20lay,much%20more%20difficult%20to%20accomplish.

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Dates: April 12, 1861 – April 9, 1865
Description: The Southern Advantages of War are slaves and immigrants. With the south having slaves they could use these men to fight or officials/general could pay these lower-class immigrants money in return to fight in their spot
Citations: “Strengths and Weaknesses: North vs. South.” Ushistory.org, Independence Hall Association, https://www.ushistory.org/US/33b.asp#:~:text=The%20South's%20greatest%20strength%20lay,much%20more%20difficult%20to%20accomplish.

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Civil War Advantages of North and South | Daily Bellringer

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Dates: September 18, 1850
Description: The Fugitive Slave Law was the law that allowed whites to capture blacks and sell them back to their owners for money/rewards. This law was also part of The compromise of 1850
Citations: “Fugitive Slave Act.” American Battlefield Trust, https://www.battlefields.org/learn/primary-sources/fugitive-slave-act#:~:text=Passed%20on%20September%2018%2C%201850,returning%2C%20and%20trying%20escaped%20slaves.

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Dates: April 23, 1860
Description: The Election of 1860 was one of the most important elections in history because Lincoln was the only Republican and the major events that it would eventually lead to like the secession of S.C., Civil War, etc.
Citations: History.com Editors. “Election of 1860.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 1 Dec. 2017, https://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/election-of-1860.

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Lincoln's Political History

Abraham Lincoln's political ambitions began in 1832 when he was just 23 years old and ran for the Illinois House of Representatives. While he lost that election, two years later, he was elected to the state legislature as a member of the Whig party, where he publicly announced his disdain for slavery.

In 1847, Lincoln was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives where, on January 10, 1849, he introduced a bill to abolish slavery in the District of Columbia. The bill didn't pass, but it opened the door for later anti-slavery legislation.

In 1858, Lincoln ran for the Senate, this time as a Republican against Illinois Democrat Stephen A. Douglas. He lost the election but gained prominence for himself and the newly established Republican Party.

1860 Republican National Convention

The Republican Party held its second national convention on May 16, 1860, in Chicago, Illinois. It adopted a moderate stance on slavery and was against its expansion, although some delegates wanted the institution abolished altogether.

The two frontrunners for the Republican presidential nomination were Lincoln and New York Senator William Seward. After three votes, Lincoln was nominated with Hannibal Hamlin as his running mate.

Democrats Split Over Slavery

The Democratic Party was in shambles in 1860. They should have been the party of unity, but instead were divided on the issue of slavery. Southern Democrats thought slavery should be expanded but Northern Democrats opposed the idea.

States' rights were also hotly debated. Southern Democrats felt states had the right to govern themselves while Northern Democrats supported the Union and a national government.

With such confusion among the ranks, it was unclear how the Democratic Party would ever nominate a candidate for the 1860 election. But on April 23, 1860, they met in Charleston, South Carolina to decide their platform and identify a nominee.

Stephen Douglas was the frontrunner, but Southern Democrats refused to support him because he wouldn't adopt a pro-slavery platform. Many walked out in protest, leaving the remaining delates without the majority needed to nominate Douglas; the convention ended without a nominee.

The Democrats met again two months later in Baltimore. Once again, many Southern delegates left in disgust, but enough remained to nominate Douglas as their presidential nominee and his running mate, former Georgia governor Herschel Johnson.

Southern Democrats nominated John Breckinridge, a supporter of slavery and states' rights, to represent them in the election. Oregon senator Joseph Lane was his running mate.

Constitutional Union Party

The Constitutional Union Party was mainly made up of disgruntled Democrats, Unionists and former Whigs. On May 9, 1860, they held their first convention and nominated Tennessee slaveholder John Bell as their presidential nominee and former Harvard University President Edward Everett as his running mate.

The Constitutional Union party claimed to be the party of law. They took no official position on slavery or states' rights, but promised to defend the Constitution and the Union.

Still, Bell wanted to offer a compromise on the topic of slavery by extending the Missouri Compromise line across the United States and make slavery legal in new states to the south of the line and illegal in new states north of the line. They hoped to sway voters who were upset with the divisiveness of the Democratic Party.

1860 Presidential Campaign

None of the 1860 presidential candidates did anywhere near the level of campaigning seen in modern-day elections. In fact, except for Douglas, they mostly kept to themselves and let well-known party members and citizens campaign for them at rallies and parades. Much of the campaigning, however, was devoted to getting voters to the ballot box on Election Day.

Lincoln's political experience and speeches spoke for themselves, but one of his main campaign goals was to keep the Republican party unified. He didn't want his party to reveal any of the discord of the Democrats and hoped to divide the Democratic votes.

Douglas campaigned in the North and South to hopefully make up for the divided voter base in the South, and gave a series of campaign speeches in favor of the Union.

1860 Election Results: The South Reacts

On November 6, 1860, voters went to the ballot box to cast their vote for President of the United States. Lincoln won the election in an electoral college landslide with 180 electoral votes, although he secured less than 40 percent of the popular vote.

The North had many more people than the South and therefore control of the Electoral College. Lincoln dominated the Northern states but didn't carry a single Southern state.

Douglas received some Northern support-12 electoral votes-but not nearly enough to offer a serious challenge to Lincoln. The Southern vote was split between Breckenridge who won 72 electoral votes and Bell who won 39 electoral votes. The split prevented either candidate from gaining enough votes to win the election.

The election of 1860 firmly established the Democratic and Republican parties as the majority parties in the United States. It also confirmed deep-seated views on slavery and states' rights between the North and South.

Before Lincoln's inauguration, seven Southern states had seceded from the Union. Weeks after his swearing-in, the Confederate Army fired on Fort Sumter and started the Civil War.

Sources

1860 Presidential General Election Results. David Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
Abraham Lincoln. Whitehouse.gov.
Constitutional Union Party. "No North, No South, No East, No West, Nothing but the Union." National Park Service. U.S. Department of the Interior.
Constitutional Union Party. Texas State Historical Association.
Pre-Presidential Career 1830-1860. National Park Service. U.S. Department of the Interior.
Southern Democratic Party. Ohio History Central.
United States Presidential Election of 1860. Encyclopedia Virginia.

Fact Check

We strive for accuracy and fairness. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate.

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Election of 1860 - Summary, Lincoln & Significance | HISTORY

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The election of 1860 was a pivotal presidential election that brought Abraham Lincoln to the White House amid debates on issues of slavery and states' rights.

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Dates: December 20, 1860
Description: When Lincoln became president and wanted to abolish slavery the south became angered which led to their secession than the start of the civil war.
Citations: “Secession.” HistoryNet, https://www.historynet.com/secession#:~:text=Secession%20summary%3A%20the%20secession%20of,and%20ultimately%20the%20Civil%20War.

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20th December 1860: South Carolina secedes from the United States of America

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Dates: 1855 – 1861
Description: Trying to settle disputes between the North and South a battle arises when these two groups meet giving this battle the name of "Bleeding Kansas".
Citation: Mrs. Sisk notes

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Dates: May 30, 1854
Description: The Kansas-Nebraska Act was the act that undid the Missouri Compromise and continued the idea of popular sovereignty. This act then led to the bloody battle known historically as "Bloody Kansas"
Citations: “The Kansas-Nebraska Act.” U.S. Senate: The Kansas-Nebraska Act, 12 Dec. 2019, https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/Kansas_Nebraska_Act.htm#:~:text=It%20became%20law%20on%20May,territories%20to%20sway%20the%20vote.

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The Kansas-Nebraska Act Explained: US History Review

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Vicksburg National Military Park, Clay St, Vicksburg, MS, USA

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Dates: May 18, 1863 – Jul 4, 1863
Description: The Battle of Vicksburg was the war that ended up splitting the confederacy into two. During this time the Union also gained control of the Mississippi River.
Citations: Mrs. Sisk Notes

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Vicksburg Campaign: The Civil War in Four Minutes

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Lincoln's Gettysburg Address Memorial, Taneytown Road, Gettysburg, PA, USA

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Dates: November 19, 1863
Description: The Gettysburg Address is a famous speech that was over why the war was being fought and how those who are suffering/dying should be remembered as heroes.
Citations: Mrs. Sisk Notes

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Battle of Gettysburg First Shot Marker, Chambersburg Road, Gettysburg, PA, USA

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Dates: July 1, 1863 – July 3, 1863
Description: The battle of Gettysburg was not only a turning point of war but the advantage of the war was on the North's side. With control of Gettysburg, you could control soldiers and war supplies in all 4 directions.
Citations: Mrs. Sisk Notes

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The Battle of Gettysburg: The Civil War in Four Minutes

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Antietam National Battlefield, East Main Street, Sharpsburg, MD, USA

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Dates: September 17, 1862
Description: First major battle South loses, gave Lincoln an advantage for political issues which leads to emancipation Proclamation.
Citations: Mrs. Sisk Notes

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Battle of Fort Sumter (1861), South Carolina, USA

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Battle of Fort Sumter (1861), South Carolina, USA

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Battle of Fort Sumter (1861), South Carolina, USA

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Dates: April 12, 1861 – April 13, 1861
Description: Confederate victory leads to other states succeeding because of this success.
Citations: Mrs. Sisk notes

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Dates: 25 April 1846 – 2 February 1848
Description: The Mexican American War was the first war that was fought on foreign soil (Mexico). Texas was not only getting their freedom taken after it was just given to them by Mexico but they were entering the Union as a slave state which made the North upset.
Citations:History.com Editors. “Mexican-American War.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 9 Nov. 2009, https://www.history.com/topics/mexican-american-war/mexican-american-war.

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What Was the Mexican-American War? | History