Civil War Causes Timeline by Grace Parker

Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo/Mexican Cession (February 2, 1848)

graceparker2 — 2023-11-28 13:22:05 UTC

Mexico and the United States sign the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo to end the Mexican-American War. In this treaty, Mexico cedes 55% of their territory to the US. Including California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Wyoming. The addition of new land westward furthers already prominent debates about whether slavery should expand or not.

Free Soil Party (1848-1854)

graceparker2 — 2023-11-28 13:24:24 UTC

The free-soil party rises with a focus on opposing slavery's expansion westward. The new party is directly against prominent southern beliefs, furthering US division.

Election of Zachary Taylor (1848)

graceparker2 — 2023-11-28 13:27:25 UTC

Zachary Taylor firmly supported immediate statehood of the new western territory, if he hadn't died and was elected for a second term, the Compromise of 1850 may have not happened.

Compromise of 1850 (1850)

graceparker2 — 2023-11-28 13:29:38 UTC

In the Compromise of 1850, Texas borders are settled, California is declared a free-state, calls for slave-trade abolition are made, and the Fugitive Slave act is passed. The compromise pushes the nation further from slavery.

Fugitive Slave Act (September 18, 1850)

graceparker2 — 2023-11-28 13:32:24 UTC

The act requires slaves to be returned to their owners, regardless if they are found in a slave or free-state. Southerners who are pro-slavery are on board with this new act, however the act upsets abolitionists, especially in free-states.

Uncle Tom's Cabin- Harriet Beecher Stowe (1852)

graceparker2 — 2023-11-28 13:35:30 UTC

This novel shared ideas of injustice about slavery and pushed against dominant beliefs that slaves were different and inherently had less humanity than white people. This novel garnered more support for the anti-slavery movement, provoking people to question their beliefs.

Election of Franklin Pierce (1852)

graceparker2 — 2023-11-28 13:37:20 UTC

During his presidency, Pierce signed the Kansas-Nebraska Act. The act was designed to solve slavery expansion debates, it failed miserably.

Kansas-Nebraska Act (May 30, 1854)

graceparker2 — 2023-11-28 13:39:02 UTC

This act repealed the Missouri Compromise and created two new territories. The act failed miserably in solving slavery expansion debates and led to a violet uprising called "Bleeding Kansas".

Birth of the Republican Party (1854)

graceparker2 — 2023-11-28 13:41:56 UTC

The party was started to combat slavery expansion towards the west. The party's creation was a direct result of the Kansas-Nebraska Act. The party was made up of mostly northerners or abolitionists. Southerners who wanted slavery to expand highly opposed the new party.

Bleeding kansas (1854-1861)

breannducheny — 2023-11-28 13:46:08 UTC

Three distinct political groups occupied Kansas: pro-slavery, Free-Staters and abolitionists. Violence broke out immediately between these opposing factions and continued until 1861 when Kansas entered the Union as a free state on January 29. This era became forever known as Bleeding Kansas. This would further the divide of the North and South on the issue of slavery.

Caning of senator Sumner (1856)

breannducheny — 2023-11-28 13:47:59 UTC

Newspaper headlines shocked readers in late May 1856 with descriptions of a violent attack within the United States Capitol Building. Preston S. Brooks had nearly bludgeoned Charles Sumner to death with his cane. The wide variety of reactions illustrated the growing sectional differences and foreshadowed the rising violence that culminated five years later with the outbreak of the American Civil War.

Election of James Buchanan (1856)

breannducheny — 2023-11-28 13:50:11 UTC

In 1856, Democrat James Buchanan was elected president in a three-way contest, defeating Republican John C. Frémont and American Party (Know-Nothing) nominee Millard Fillmore. After passage of the controversial Kansas-Nebraska Act in 1854, the debate over the expansion of slavery into the territories was the dominant issue of the campaign.

Dred Scott vs sandford (1857)

breannducheny — 2023-11-28 13:51:25 UTC

In this ruling, 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 opinion also stated that Congress had no authority to ban slavery from a Federal territory. This would lead to the growing divide between the North and the South on the issue of slavery.

Lecompton constitution (1857)

breannducheny — 2023-11-28 13:52:36 UTC

The Lecompton Constitution was a document framed in Lecompton, the Territorial Capital of Kansas, in 1857 by Southern pro-slavery advocates of Kansas statehood. It contained clauses protecting slaveholding and a bill of rights excluding free blacks, and it added to the frictions leading up to the U.S. Civil War.

John Brown's raid (October 16, 1859)

breannducheny — 2023-11-28 13:54:18 UTC

On the evening of October 16, 1859 John Brown, a staunch abolitionist, and a group of his supporters left their farmhouse hideout en route to Harpers Ferry. Descending upon the town in the early hours of October 17th, Brown and his men captured prominent citizens and seized the federal armory and arsenal. US Marines under Colonel Robert E. Lee arrived and stormed the engine house, killing many of the raiders and capturing Brown. Brown was quickly placed on trial and charged with treason against the state of Virginia, murder, and slave insurrection. Brown was sentenced to death for his crimes and hanged on December 2, 1859. This would lead to the growing divide between the North and the South on the issue of slavery.

Election of Abraham Lincoln (November 6, 1860)

breannducheny — 2023-11-28 13:57:46 UTC

United States presidential election of 1860, American presidential election held on November 6, 1860, in which Republican Abraham Lincoln defeated Southern Democrat John C. Breckinridge, Democrat Stephen A. Douglas, and Constitutional Union candidate John Bell. The electoral split between Northern and Southern Democrats was emblematic of the severe sectional split, particularly over slavery. And would also lead to the secession of South Carolina.

Crittenden Compromise (December 18, 1860)

breannducheny — 2023-11-28 13:59:29 UTC

Senator John J. Crittenden introduced legislation that would reinstate the Missouri Compromise line, forbid the abolition of slavery on federal land in slaveholding states, compensate owners for runaway slaves, and other amendments to support the institution of slavery. This amendment, known as the “Crittenden Compromise,” was supported by Southern Leaders, but ultimately failed in Congress because of opposition from Northern. This would further the divide of the North and South on the issue of slavery.

Secession of South Carolina (December 20, 1860)

breannducheny — 2023-11-28 14:01:46 UTC

The victory of Republican presidential candidate Abraham Lincoln in the 1860 elections convinced South Carolina legislators that it was no longer in their state’s interest to remain in the Union. South Carolina insisted that the Northern states had breached their constitutional obligation to enforce federal laws. This would lead to six more southern states to secede and the eventual start of the civil war.