Events Important to Our Study of the Civil War

Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 was a plan to help maintain balance between the free and slave states in the Senate if they were to admit California to the United States as a free state. It consisted of five laws, two that favored the south and two that favored the North. These are the laws:
1) Congress would admit California into the Union as a free state.
2) The people of the New Mexico and Utah territories would decide for themselves whether to allow slavery. (popular sovereignty)
3) Congress would abolish the sale of enslaved people, but not slavery, in Washington, D.C.
4) Texas would give up claims to New Mexico for $10 million.
5) A Fugitive Slave Act would order all citizens of the United States to assist in the return of escaped slaves and would deny a jury trial to escaped slaves.
The Compromise of 1850 is important to our study of the Civil War because many people had opposed to it and it only helped them see their differences in opinion clearer which would lead to disputes later on. The south thought that the north would be controlling the Government if it's population grew because it would have more seats in the House.

Kansas-Nebraska Act
The Kansas-Nebraska Act was introduced by Senator Stephen Douglas. It called for the creation of two new territories, Kansas and Nebraska, and stated that the people there would get to decide if they were to become free or slave states (popular sovereignty). The two territories were north of the boundary the Missouri Compromise had set. If the territories were to allow slavery, it would be the repeal of the Missouri Compromise. The Kansas-Nebraska Act was meant to please both the south and the north. Douglas knew the Southerners would accept it because there was a probability that they would be slave states. He also though that the Northerners would accept it because they thought that slaves weren't needed where cotton couldn't grow. This Act was passed by Congress.
The Kansas-Nebraska Act is important to our study of the Civil War because after it was passed, anti-slavery and pro-slavery settled in Kansas to effect the vote of weather the territory would be a free state. This led to violent raid and counter-raids. Therefore, this added to the tension between them that would soon lead to a Civil War.

Presidential Election of 1860
The presidential election of 1860 occurred when the North couldn't stand having a Southern leader and vice versa. It was clear that there were no national political parties. When the Democratic Party met in South Carolina to nominate it's candidate for President, the party broke in two because there were Southern Democrats who were for slavery and Northern Democrats who were for popular sovereignty. Eight Democratic states agreed to nominate their own candidate. Then there were the Whig and American Parties who formed to make the Constitutional Union Party and nominated John Bell. Then we had the Republic Party who nominated Abraham Lincoln who stood against the spread of slavery with moderate views on slavery as well.
In the South, the election was between Bell and Beckinridge. In the North, it was between Lincoln and Douglas. All the free states except for half of New Jersey were for Lincoln. He won the election without any votes from the South.
The Presidential election of 1860 is important to our study of the Civil War because it infuriated the Southerners that Lincoln was able to win without any votes from the South. They felt like they had no say in the government. This cause them to completely secede from the Union. It showed that their differences couldn't be solved easily. They didn't even consult the North showing their lack of willingness to talk and compromise. This is one of the final events that added to the tension between them that would lead to the Civil War.

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