"(Our) peculiar institution”

The Free Soil Party was a short-lived political party 1848 and 1852 presidential elections, and in some state elections. Founded in Buffalo, New York, it was a third party and a single-issue party that largely appealed to and drew its greatest strength from New York State.

1850-Compromise of 1850: This compromise allowed California to enter as a free state and ended the slave trade in Washington, D.C.  Popular sovereignty would be used to determine the issue of slavery in the New Mexico and Utah territories.

1850-Fugitive Slave Law:  State and local officials were responsible for capturing and returning runaway slaves to the South.  Northern states passed Personal Liberty Laws which, in effect, nullified the Fugitive Slave Law.

Underground Railroad, 1850-1860

1852-Uncle Tom’s Cabin: Written by Harriet Beecher Stowe, this best-seller depicted the cruelties of slavery.  It called attention to the abolitionist movement in the North.

1854-Kansas-Nebraska Act:  This act reopened the issue of slavery in Louisiana Territories and caused fighting between slavery and anti-slavery opponents in what became known as “Bleeding Kansas.”

1854-Republican Party Formed:  Formed after the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, the Republican Party took a stand against the spread of slavery into the territories.

1857-Dred Scott v. Sanford:  The Supreme Court declared slaves to be property and stated that Congress did not have the Constitutional authority to legislate on the issue of slavery.  The Missouri Compromise was ruled unconstitutional as a result.

1858-Lincoln-Douglas Debates:  The much-publicized debates between the two Senate candidates from Illinois brought the issue of slavery to national attention.

1859-John Brown’s Raid:  Brown, a white abolitionist, tried to encourage a slave revolt.  His group seized U.S. weapons at Harper’s Ferry, Virginia.  Federal troops captured and hanged Brown and his followers.

1860-Election of Abraham Lincoln: When Abraham Lincoln, a Republican, was elected President, the South feared slavery would be prohibited in new territories.  They seceded from the Union and established the Confederate States of America.

1863-Emancipation Proclamation: President Lincoln’s proclamation freed all slaves living in the Confederate States of America.

13th Amendment, 1865

Black Codes (1865)

Discriminatory laws passed in many Southern states during when the Civil War ended and Reconstruction began (Prohibited by the Civil Rights Act of 1866). Restricted freed slaves from:  Voting, Serving on juries, Right to testify against whites, Marrying whites, Bearing arms in public, Holding certain jobs, Starting their own businesses, Traveling without permits

Freedman’s Bureau, 1865-1872

14th Amendment, 1868

15th Amendment, 1870

Reconstruction Realities

Civil Rights Act of 1875 - enacted during the Reconstruction Era to guarantee African Americans equal treatment in public accommodations, public transportation, and to prohibit exclusion from jury service.

Ku Klux Klan

Redeemers -  were white southern Democrats who aimed to put an end to Reconstruction and biracial governments and restore the Democratic Party to power

Compromise of 1877