Slavery & Representation
Lincoln issued this in 1863, freeing enslaved people in Confederate states.
Emancipation Proclamation
Under this compromise,slavery was banned north of the 36°30′ line. Temporarily balanced free/slave states.
Missouri Compromise
First federal law defining citizenship and guaranteeing equal rights regardless of race. Aimed to protect freedmen from discriminatory state laws.
Civil Rights Act of 1866
Restricted freedmen’s rights immediately after the Civil War (labor contracts, limited movement)
Black Codes
Granted all men citizenship & equal protection regardless of race
14th Amendment
Describe in detail the Fugitive Slave Act
The Fugitive Slave Act forced everyone — including citizens, police, and federal marshals — to help capture people who were accused of escaping slavery. It denied the accused a jury trial, did not allow them to testify, and punished anyone who tried to help them with fines and jail time. The law angered many Northerners and increased tension between the North and South before the Civil War.
Describe in Detail the Kansas Nebraska Act and how it led to Bleeding Kansas
The Kansas‑Nebraska Act of 1854, created by Stephen Douglas, set up the territories of Kansas and Nebraska and allowed the people living there to decide for themselves whether they would allow slavery. This idea was called popular sovereignty.
By allowing a vote on slavery, the act repealed the Missouri Compromise line, which had previously kept slavery out of that area. Once the law passed, pro‑slavery and anti‑slavery settlers rushed into Kansas to influence the vote. Both sides wanted control, and neither trusted the other.
This led to violence, raids, election fraud, and armed conflict between the two groups — a period known as Bleeding Kansas. The fighting showed how divided the nation had become and was a major warning sign that the Civil War was coming.
Tell me the significance of the election of 1860
The Election of 1860 was significant because Abraham Lincoln won the presidency without carrying a single Southern state, convincing many Southern leaders that they had lost their political power in the federal government. His victory made the South fear that slavery would be limited or eventually abolished. As a result, Southern states began seceding from the Union, starting with South Carolina, which led directly to the Civil War.
Describe in detail the Plessy V Ferguson Court case of 1896
Plessy v. Ferguson was an 1896 Supreme Court case that ruled racial segregation was legal as long as the facilities for Black and white Americans were “separate but equal.” The case began when Homer Plessy, who was 1/8 Black, deliberately sat in a whites‑only train car to challenge Louisiana’s segregation law. The Court decided that segregation did not violate the 14th Amendment, which allowed states to continue passing and enforcing Jim Crow laws.
What year was the 13th Amendment passed and what did it do
The 13th Amendment, passed in 1865, abolished slavery and involuntary servitude in the United States, except as punishment for a crime. It legally freed millions of enslaved people and marked the beginning of Reconstruction, when the nation tried to rebuild and redefine freedom after the Civil War.
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The Three‑Fifths Compromise was an agreement made at the Constitutional Convention in 1787 about how enslaved people would be counted when deciding a state’s population for representation and taxation.
It said that three out of every five enslaved people would count toward a state’s population. This gave Southern states more seats in Congress and more political power, even though enslaved people had no rights or freedom.
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Bleeding Kansas was a period of violent fighting in the Kansas Territory during the 1850s, caused by pro‑slavery and anti‑slavery groups rushing in to influence whether Kansas would become a free or slave state. The conflict showed how deeply divided the nation was and previewed the coming Civil War
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Dred Scott was an enslaved man who sued for his freedom after living in free territory with his enslaver. He argued that because he had lived on free soil, he should legally be free. The Supreme Court ruled against him in 1857, saying enslaved people were not citizens and could not sue, and that Congress could not ban slavery in the territories. This decision increased national tension and pushed the country closer to the Civil War
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Jim Crow Laws were state and local laws in the South that enforced racial segregation from the late 1800s through the mid‑1900s. These laws separated Black and white Americans in schools, transportation, restaurants, and public spaces, creating unequal conditions and limiting the rights and freedoms of Black citizens.
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The 15th Amendment was passed in 1870, and it gave African American men the right to vote by banning racial discrimination in voting.