Road To Secession Timeline

Summary: Bill passed in Congress that admitted Missouri to the Union as a slave state and Maine as a free state. The bill also prohibited slavery anywhere north of the 36th parallel.

Northern Perspective: The North liked this bill as they maintained the balance in Congress and they managed to limit the spread of slavery,

Southern Perspective: The South disliked this because it limited the spread of slavery, and the amount of land above the 36th parallel was much greater than the land below it.

Summary: Nat Turner was a slave preacher who thought he was chosen by God to lead the slaves in a rebellion. He, and about 80 other slaves led an armed rebellion, going though the houses the people and murdering 51 white men, women, and children.

Northern Perspective: Most Northerners were against this and generally believed that it was nothing more than a massacre.

Southern Perspective: The South thought that this was a major rebellion against them, and fear set it. They imposed much harsher laws on slavery and those against it. Law prohibited education, assembly, and movement of slaves.

Summary: After Texas declared independence from Mexico in 1836, they asked the US to annex them. The US declined, because of the pro-slavery in Texas and the current US political climate. However, Texas was annexed eventually.

Northern Perspective: The North did not like the idea of Texas being admitted as a state, because Texas was a slave state, and they did not want more votes for slave states.

Southern Perspective: The South was okay with the annexation of Texas, although neither side wanted to start a war with Mexico. This was because they would gain support in Congress if Texas was admitted as a slave state.

Summary: A series of bills passed in Congress that resolved the issue of the new states won from Mexico. The Compromise of 1850 split up the land of the Mexican Cession into the states of California, and the Utah and New Mexico territories. California was admitted into the Union as a free state, and Utah and New Mexico were allowed to decide on slavery via popular sovereignty. The compromise also set the northern border of Texas, outlawed the slave trade in DC, and introduced a new Fugitive Slave Act.

Northern Perspective: The North was fine with the compromise for the most part, other that the new Fugitive Slave Act. The new Act caused outrage in the north and pushed some anti-slavery groups to become full-time opponents of the expansion of slavery.

Southern Perspective: The South liked the compromise, because it maintained the balance between slave and free states in Congress. The South also got the new Fugitive Slave Act, which made it easier to recover fugitive/runaway slaves.

Summary; Uncle Tom's Cabin was a book that went into detail and essentially exposed the horrors of slavery. After this book was published, many Northerners, as well as European nations turned very much against slavery.

Northern Perspective: Those in the North not familiar with the details of the practice of slavery were shocked at how ugly it was. The abolitionists in the North approved of this book as it showed the world how bad slavery was, helping their cause.

Southern Perspective: The South did not appreciate the publication of this book, as it painted them as monsters and turned the rest of the world against them, at least in a moral sense.

Summary: The Kansas-Nebraska Act was a bill passed in US Congress that made it so the newly formed Kansas and Nebraska could vote on slavery, by popular sovereignty. This was a large upset because it made it possible to have slave states over the Missouri compromise line, effectively voiding it. The Act caused settlers to migrate en masse to Kansas and Nebraska, to try and sway the vote. This caused much violence, both in the territories and in Congress.

Northern Perspective: The North very much disliked the Act, as it basically nullified the Missouri Compromise by allowing slave states to exist over the Missouri Compromise line.

Southern Perspective: The South found the Act favorable, as they were now able to expand slavery over the Missouri Compromise line.

Summary: Dred Scott was a slave who traveled with his master to a free state and stayed there for an extended period of time. When he returned to a slave state, he tried to sue for his freedom, citing the fact that he had lived in a free territory. The case went up to the Supreme Court, and they ruled against Scott. This decision carried with it the facts that according to the Supreme Court, African-Americans were not citizens under the Constitution and as such, had no right to sue. They also added that the northern free territories had no right to take peoples' slaves, or their property away from them, according to the 5th amendment.

Northern Perspective: This result infuriated Northerners, as this injustice as the hands of the legal system was seen as preposterous. This event was one of many that increased the tensions between North and South leading up to the Civil War.

Southern Perspective: The South was content with this result, as this result reaffirmed the African-Americans' inferiority to the whites, regardless of free or slave. This served to make slavery more powerful as well as adding fuel to the fire of the tensions between North and South.

Summary: John Brown was an extreme abolitionist, often resorting to violence to make his point rather than peaceful or political methods. He raided the federal arsenal at Harper's Ferry and seized all arms within. His intention was to start an armed uprising of slaves and destroy the establishment of slavery. However, the US Marines, led by Colonel Robert E. Lee, attacked Brown and his allies, killing ten of his men, including two of his sons. Brown was captured, tried for treason and murder, and was executed.

Northern Perspective: The North, in general, agreed with the principles behind the raid. However, most disagreed with the way he went about making his point. There were some that wholeheartedly supported his actions and thought he was a hero.

Southern Perspective: The South, on the other hand, saw Brown as a traitor who committed a vicious attack against their country and their way of life.

Summary: The election of 1860 had 4 presidential candidates, Lincoln for the Republicans, Bell for the Constitutional Union, Breckinridge for the southern Democrats, and Douglas for the northern Democrats. Lincoln won by a large margin of electoral votes (180). This is the event that caused the South to secede.

Northern Perspective: The Northern states were very pleased with this result. Lincoln had been campaigning against slavery and giving several speeches on the heinousness of slavery. His election benefitted the Northern states.

Southern Perspective: The Southern states were enraged. This is because Lincoln was not on any of the southern polls, but he was still elected. This implied that the North could pass essentially any legislation or elect any candidate without the South's approval.

Summary: Due to the election of Abraham Lincoln, South Carolina officially seceded from the Union, severing all ties. This was because they felt threatened by Lincoln and his Republican ideologies as well as the fear that the North could outvote them on anything in Congress.

Northern Perspective: The North was outraged by this, as they considered the act of secession akin to treason. They did not recognize it as legitimate and thought that states cannot just choose to leave the Union.

Southern Perspective: The South approved of this, as they were all thinking about it after Lincoln was elected. SC was the first to go, and the others followed suit after Fort Sumter.