Missouri Compromise of 1820: Maintained the balance of free & slave states.

·  Missouri permitted to come into the as a slaveholding state.

·  Maine joined the Union as a free state.

·  Missouri’s southern border, the line of latitude at 36 degrees 30 minutes north, would serve as the northernmost limit for slavery. Territory above line was free, below was slave.

Compromise of 1850:

·  California joined the United States as a free state.

·  Texas joined the Union as a slaveholding state after being reimbursed for their claims on western lands.

·  Popular sovereignty would be used in Utah and New Mexico to decide the issue of slavery.

·  Slave auctions in Washington, D.C. were ended.

·  The Fugitive Slave Act required all Americans to help return runaway slaves.

Fugitive Slave Act:

·  People caught helping runaway slaves could be jailed for six months or face a large fine.

·  Rewards were given to people who helped catch runaway slaves.

·  The Fugitive Slave Act outraged abolitionists (people against slavery).

Kansas-Nebraska Act:

·  Opened the land to white settlement and raised money to pay for a railroad across the country.

·  “Popular sovereignty” was used to determine the question of slavery.

·  The Missouri Compromise was nullified (Kansas and Nebraska are north of the line drawn by the Missouri Compromise).

·  Settlers both for and against slavery poured into the area, with dramatic consequences.

Dred Scott v. Sandford:

·  The Supreme Court ruled that slaves were property.

·  The Supreme Court ruled that African Americans were not citizens so Dred Scott could not bring a case to court.

·  The Supreme Court ruled U.S. citizens could bring property wherever they chose, even if that property was an enslaved person.

·  The Supreme Court ruled that the federal government could not ban slavery in the territories.

Nat Turners Rebellion: In 1831, Nat Turner, a Virginian slave, led a group of men in revolt against slavery in Virginia. They murdered their white owners and families, 55 people in all. Turner confessed to the crimes and detailed the night’s events. He noted that he had a better living than most slaves did because of his intellect. However, he believed that fighting against slavery, even with violence, was his God-given purpose in life. Turner died by hanging for his role in the revolt.

Bleeding Kansas: John Brown, a white abolitionist, fought slavery with violence as well. When the citizens of Kansas voted to allow slavery, those against it set up a new capital. They said the vote was a fraud. Violence broke out in the territory. John Brown and his followers murdered five pro-slavery men. This set off a chain of violent events, known as Bleeding Kansas, leading to 200 deaths.

Harpers Ferry: In 1859, Brown was in Virginia. He led 21 men in a takeover of a federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry. U.S. Marines captured him, and a federal court found him guilty of treason, murder, and conspiracy. Like Nat Turner, Brown was hanged to death.