1820

The Missouri Compromise was the separation of slave and free states, the north and south had vastly different views on slavery, which started the war.

1816

Taxes, fees, or dues that were put in place. The oppression of those import duties started the Civil War.

1832-33

Confrontation between the state of South Carolina and the federal government. It increased the sectional differences the North and South had over economics and the constitutionality of federal laws, which started the war.

1846-48

A disputed boundary between the United States and Texas on the Nueces Strip. The acquisition of so much territory with the issue of slavery unresolved, started the civil war.

1850

California being admitted as a free state and the borders of Texas being settled, with areas ceded by Texas becoming the recognized territories of New Mexico and Utah. The ten year armistice established by the compromise only pushed the nation further against slavery, which started the war.

1852

This book tells the story of Uncle Tom, an enslaved person, he spoke about the controversial subject of slavery and encouraged others to speak out, creating further tension with the already precarious relations between northern and southern states, causing the Civil War.

1854

The Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854 created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska. Raised the possibility that slavery could be extended into territories where it had once been banned, which lead to the war.

1854-59

Kansas entered the Union as a free state. This significantly shaped American politics, which lead to the war.

1857

The U.S. Supreme Court stated that enslaved people were not citizens of the United States and, therefore, could not expect any protection from the federal government or the courts. The divide between North and South over slavery grew and culminated, which lead to the civil war.

Oct 16-18, 1859

John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry was to initiate a slave revolt in Southern states by taking over the United States arsenal at Harpers Ferry. The trial and execution of John Brown lead to the war.

1860

Abraham Lincoln won the presidential election of 1860 in a four-way contest. The South saw Lincoln as a threat to slavery as he had too much power and was more viewed as a Northerner who wanted to abolish slavery, which lead to the war.

1861

theory of secession was the idea that states may step out of the Union to-morrow without any obligation to refund the money they have cost us. The North and South fought over whether or not it was within the South's rights to break away and become independent, which lead to the war.