Chapter 20

Fugitive Slave Law (1850)

1. Both sides were not happy about the fugitive slave law. The Northerners were unhappy because they didn't want to follow it 2. Many runaways fled to Canada because if they were arrested, they had no legal rights again 3. It also stated that anyone who helped a slave escape would go to jail 4. The Southerners were not happy because they thought that the law wasn't strict enough 5. Result: No free states decided to enforce the law

Slavery in D.C. and the Territories (1850)

1. California applied to become a free state but the South said no, about balance 2. D.C. banned slave trade 3.Utah and NM were slave territories

What was the Missouri Compromise?

1. Congress agreed to admit Missouri to the Union as a slave state, and in "return", Maine was admitted as a free state (12 to 12) 2. Congress also drew an imaginary line across the Louisiana territory with the understanding that North of the line, all states but Missouri would be free, and all the states in the South would be slave states

What caused the Compromise of 1850?

1. Congress needed to figure out whether California should be a free state or a slave state

What was the Kansas-Nebraska Act?

1. Created two new territories: Kansas and Nebraska 2. Got rid of the Missouri Compromise by leaving it up to the settles to choose if it should be free or not, which is called "popular sovereignty"

Lincoln-Douglas Debates

1. During the race to become Senator, Lincoln asked to have multiple debates with Douglas; certain topics of these debates were slavery, and they became famous 2. Douglas said: No need to discuss slavery, for the Dred Scott Case solved all of our problems 3. Lincoln said: Slavery is a moral issue, and thought that the union would eventually have a war about it

Causes of the Missouri Compromise?

1. In 1819, there was an unwritten agreement in Congress, that the number of slave states is equal to the the number of free states 2. In 1819, Missouri and Maine applied to Congress as slave states 3. Congress agreed to let Maine become a free state because they were nearer to the north 4. Congress didn't want Missouri to become a slave state because Missouri was more North than other slave states. Also, the North was afraid that if Missouri became a slave state, then the rest of the west would too. 5. Congressman Tallmadge from New York proposed an amendment to the statehood bill that said that Missouri would be a free state 6. Southerners protested that amendment because they were afraid that if Missouri became a free state,they would have to become slave states 7. The South did not want the free states to have more representatives and senators in congress

What are the Facts of the Dred Scott Case?

1. In 1857, a slave who lived in Missouri went with his owner to Wisconsin. He claimed to be free when they came back because he lived in a free state, Wisconsin 2. Supreme Court said that Dred Scott could not sue for his freedom in a federal court because he's not a citizen. They also said that African Americans can never be citizens. They also decided that the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional 3. Significance: African Americans are property not citizens

John Brown's Raid

1. John Brown wanted to start a slave rebellion in the South, by trying to take the guns from a federal arsenal in Virginia, and give them to slaves to start a rebellion 2. Instead, he and his men that he brought with him were killed

Election of 1860

1. Lincoln, the Republican candidate, won against two Democratic candidates. Stephen Douglas was the Northern Democrat , and John Breckinridge was the Southern Democrat. As a result, the South no longer felt like it had power in politics, for Lincoln might try to completely get rid of slavery in the Union.

What were the Reactions to the Compromise of 1850?

1. Most Americans were happy of the compromise because they thought that the talk of slavery was over

What were the Reactions to the Kansas-Nebraska Act?

1. Northerners were very mad because there was no more Missouri compromise 2. Both sides sent settlers to settle the land in Kansas-Nebraska, and it started to become violent

Secession

1. President Lincoln told a reporter that he would tolerate the fugitive slave law, and would even tolerate slavery in the South. But, he would not accept any slavery in the territories. Because of this, South Carolina decided that they were going to leave the Union, followed by ten more states, and they formed the confederate states of America. South Carolina surrounded Fort Sumter - a U.S. military fort. That is how the civil war began

What caused the Kansas-Nebraska Act?

1. Senator Douglas from Illinois introduced a new bill in congress. He wanted a railroad built to California. He thought that in order to do so, they would need to form the Nebraska territory and open it up to settlers. The bill didn't say if it would be a free state, or a slave state

What was the Reaction to the Outcome of the Missouri Compromise?

1. The Notheners weren't happy that Missouri was a slave state 2. The Southerners weren't happy because they wanted to be able to have more slave states in the Louisiana territory

What was the Compromise of 1850?

1. The compromise in congress was to make California a free state 2. Meanwhile New Mexico and Utah would be slave states 3. They were also going to abolish slavery in Washington D.C. 4. The passage of a strong fugitive slave laws, meaning that it would be easier for slave states to find their slaves if they escaped to the North

Uncle Tom's Cabin

A novel published by harriet beecher stowe in 1852 which portrayed slavery as brutal and wrong, and it changed the perspective of slavery to many people