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Events Leading up to the Civil War Essay

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1787-
In 1787 the Northwest Ordinance was passed. It helped form new states and governed them. Then the confederate government had almost no control. The United States went into a depression, farmers had their land taken away, shays rebellion came, and slavery became a topic of debate. This led to the constitutional convention. Many plans were proposed, but only compromises were accepted. Two important compromises were the Great Compromise, and the three-fifths compromise. The Great Compromise made a two house legislature, and the three-fifths compromise made slaves count as three-fifths of a free person when counting population. During the convention they also agreed that congress couldn’t interfere with slavery until 1808. They also …show more content…

After he was captured he was hung. This act frightened the South. This was a cause of the Civil War because it put fear into the southerners, and showed them how rebellious their own slaves were against them. Since they were so rare it made them even more frightened. This even led to the passing of harder slave codes.

1831- After the Cotton Gin was invented the demand for slaves grew rapidly. Many northerners became abolitionists. William Lloyd Garrison was an abolitionist, and he founded his own newspaper called “The Liberator”. This was a cause of the Civil War because the North and South were already divided, but the slavery issue continued to spread them further and further apart.
1845-
After the Missouri Compromise was made, more conflict arose. New territories were beginning to fight over the issue of slavery. These territories included Texas, New Mexico, and California. After James Polk became president he annexed Texas, and it became a state. This was a cause of the Civil War because it caused was the war with Mexico, which as a result led to the Compromise of 1850. The Compromise of 1850 made Northerners help catch runaway slaves. The South loved it, but the North hated it. Once again the North and South were spreading apart.
1846- 1848- In 1846 war with Mexico began. It was a fight for the New Mexico and California territories. Right after the war began David Wilmot proposed the Wilmot Proviso, which insisted that slavery be prohibited in

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