John Brown led a raid on the federal armory at Harpers Ferry, Virginia, on October 16, 1859, seizing the facility with 21 followers in an attempt to spark a slave uprising by capturing weapons and distributing them to enslaved people in the region. The raid exposed how thoroughly the Slave Power had …
John BrownRobert E. LeeJames BuchananU.S. MarinesVirginia Militiaslave-powerinstitutional-capturepolitical-violencedemocratic-erosionfederal-military
The first of seven Lincoln-Douglas debates took place on August 21, 1858, in Ottawa, Illinois, as Republican challenger Abraham Lincoln faced Democratic Senator Stephen A. Douglas in a contest focused almost entirely on slavery’s expansion into the territories. The debates exposed fundamental …
Abraham LincolnStephen A. DouglasRepublican PartyDemocratic Partyslave-powerdemocratic-erosioninstitutional-capturepolitical-debatesystematic-corruption
Kansas voters rejected the fraudulent Lecompton Constitution by an overwhelming margin of 10,226 to 138 on January 4, 1858, in a referendum that exposed the pro-slavery document’s lack of popular support. The constitution had been drafted by a pro-slavery territorial legislature that consisted …
James BuchananStephen A. DouglasKansas votersLecompton Conventioninstitutional-captureslave-powerelectoral-fraudsystematic-corruptiondemocratic-erosion
Chief Justice Roger B. Taney delivers the Supreme Court’s 7-2 decision in Dred Scott v. Sandford, ruling that African Americans “are not and could not be citizens” of the United States and therefore have no standing to sue in federal court, and that Congress lacks authority to …
Roger B. TaneyJames BuchananJohn CatronRobert Cooper GrierU.S. Supreme Court+1 moredred-scottjudicial-corruptionslave-powersupreme-courtconstitutional-crisis+1 more
Representative Preston Brooks, a pro-slavery Democrat from South Carolina, enters the Senate chamber and beats Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts nearly to death with a metal-topped cane, striking him repeatedly on the head while Sumner attempts futilely to protect himself. The attack follows …
Preston BrooksCharles SumnerAndrew ButlerU.S. SenateU.S. House of Representativespolitical-violenceslave-powerinstitutional-corruptionbleeding-kansassenate-violence
Kansas Territory held its first territorial legislative election on March 30, 1855, which was stolen through systematic fraud and violence by approximately 5,000 “Border Ruffians” who invaded from western Missouri. Under the leadership of U.S. Senator David Rice Atchison and other …
David Rice AtchisonBorder RuffiansFranklin PierceKansas Territorial Governmentelectoral-fraudslave-powerinstitutional-capturepolitical-violencedemocratic-erosion
Congress passes and President Franklin Pierce signs the Kansas-Nebraska Act, creating the territories of Kansas and Nebraska while repealing the Missouri Compromise’s prohibition on slavery north of the 36°30’ parallel. The Act, drafted by Democratic Senator Stephen Douglas of Illinois, …
Stephen A. DouglasFranklin PierceU.S. CongressPro-slavery Border RuffiansFree-State settlerskansas-nebraska-actslavery-expansionpopular-sovereigntybleeding-kansaslegislative-corruption+1 more
Franklin Pierce delivered his inaugural address on March 4, 1853, after defeating Winfield Scott in a landslide with 254 electoral votes to 42 as a pro-slavery Northern Democrat. Pierce expressed hope that the Compromise of 1850 had permanently settled the slavery question, stating “I …
Franklin PierceStephen A. DouglasDemocratic PartySlave Powerinstitutional-captureslave-powerpolitical-deceptiondemocratic-erosionterritorial-expansion
Franklin Pierce won the presidency on November 2, 1852, in a devastating landslide with 254 electoral votes to Winfield Scott’s 42, as divisions within the Whig Party over slavery enforcement came to a catastrophic head. Pierce ran as a pro-slavery Northern Democrat—a “doughface” …
Franklin PierceWinfield ScottDemocratic PartyWhig Partyinstitutional-captureslave-powerparty-realignmentdemocratic-erosionelectoral-politics
Congress passes and President Millard Fillmore signs the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 as part of the Compromise of 1850, transforming the capture of freedom seekers from a state matter into a federal responsibility and converting the entire apparatus of federal law enforcement into an instrument of …
U.S. CongressMillard FillmoreFederal commissionersFederal marshalsSlaveholders+1 morefugitive-slave-actslave-powerfederal-complicityinstitutional-corruptionkidnapping+1 more
President James K. Polk presented Congress with a war message on May 11, 1846, claiming that Mexico “has at last invaded our territory and shed the blood of our fellow-citizens on our own soil” after Mexican forces killed or wounded 16 U.S. soldiers in disputed territory between the …
James K. PolkZachary TaylorU.S. CongressAbraham LincolnWhig Partyinstitutional-capturepolitical-deceptionexecutive-overreachterritorial-expansionslave-power
President John Tyler’s administration conducted secret negotiations for Texas annexation beginning in September 1843, explicitly designed to expand slavery while deceiving the public about its true motivations. Tyler, expelled from the Whig Party in September 1841 after vetoing their …
John TylerAbel P. UpshurJohn C. CalhounIsaac Van Zandtinstitutional-captureslave-powersystematic-corruptionpolitical-deceptionterritorial-expansion
Face-to-face negotiations for Texas annexation secretly commenced on October 16, 1843, between Secretary of State Abel P. Upshur and Texas minister to the United States Isaac Van Zandt, following President John Tyler’s order to open secret talks on September 18. Tyler, politically isolated …
John TylerAbel P. UpshurIsaac Van ZandtSlave Powerinstitutional-captureslave-powerpolitical-deceptionexecutive-overreachterritorial-expansion
Presbyterian minister and abolitionist newspaper editor Elijah Parish Lovejoy is murdered by a pro-slavery mob in Alton, Illinois, struck by five bullets while defending his printing press from destruction. The murder of Lovejoy—whose fourth printing press had been hidden in a warehouse owned by …
The House of Representatives passes the Pinckney Resolutions, authored by Henry L. Pinckney of South Carolina, establishing what becomes known as the “gag rule”—a resolution automatically “tabling” all antislavery petitions, prohibiting them from being printed, read, …
Henry L. PinckneyJohn Quincy AdamsU.S. House of RepresentativesAmerican Anti-Slavery SocietyPro-slavery Democratsgag-ruleslave-powerlegislative-capturecensorshipfirst-amendment+1 more
A South Carolina state convention adopts the Ordinance of Nullification, declaring the federal Tariffs of 1828 and 1832 “null, void, and no law, nor binding upon this State, its officers or citizens,” and threatening secession if the federal government attempts to collect tariff duties …
John C. CalhounAndrew JacksonSouth CarolinaHenry ClayU.S. Congressnullificationslave-powerstates-rightssecession-threatconstitutional-crisis+1 more
On the night of August 21, 1831, enslaved preacher Nat Turner leads a rebellion in Southampton County, Virginia, that kills between 55 and 65 white people over approximately 48 hours before being suppressed by local militias and federal troops. Turner, deeply religious and literate, interpreted a …
Nat TurnerVirginia LegislatureSouthern state governmentsEnslaved populationWhite vigilante mobsslaveryslave-powerstate-violenceinstitutional-racismcivil-liberties+1 more
President Andrew Jackson signs the Indian Removal Act into law, authorizing the president to grant lands west of the Mississippi River to Native American tribes in exchange for their ancestral homelands within existing state borders. The legislation passes narrowly in the House (102 to 97) despite …
Andrew JacksonU.S. CongressCherokee NationFive Civilized TribesLand speculators+1 moreethnic-cleansingindian-removalinstitutional-corruptionland-speculationslave-power+2 more
Congress passes and President John Quincy Adams signs the Tariff of 1828, an extraordinarily high protective tariff setting a 38% tax on some imported goods and a 45% tax on certain imported raw materials—the highest rates in American history to that point. The tariff seeks to protect Northern …
U.S. CongressJohn C. CalhounAndrew JacksonSouthern plantersNorthern manufacturerssectional-conflictnullificationeconomic-extractionregional-exploitationslave-power
Missouri became the 24th state on August 10, 1821, after Congress resolved a constitutional crisis over the state’s attempt to exclude free Black citizens. The original Missouri Compromise of March 1820 had admitted Missouri as a slave state paired with Maine as a free state, drawing a line at …
CongressJames MonroeHenry ClayDaniel Pope CookWilliam Lowndesinstitutional-capturesystematic-corruptionslave-powerracial-oppressiondemocratic-erosion
Congress passes and President James Monroe signs the Missouri Compromise, federal legislation that balances the desires of northern states to prevent the expansion of slavery with those of southern states to expand it. The compromise admits Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state …
Henry ClayJames MonroeU.S. CongressSlave Power advocatesslave-powerinstitutional-corruptionterritorial-expansionlegislative-capturemissouri-compromise
The Electoral College meets in state capitals on December 3, 1800, and Thomas Jefferson defeats incumbent President John Adams 73 to 65 electoral votes, a victory determined entirely by the extra electoral votes slave states receive through the Three-Fifths Compromise. Without the constitutional …
Thomas JeffersonJohn AdamsVirginia slaveholdersElectoral Collegethree-fifths-compromiseelectoral-manipulationslaveryslave-powerinstitutional-corruption
The Constitutional Convention concludes its work by approving a Constitution that entrenches slavery through multiple provisions despite deliberately avoiding the word “slave” in the document. The most notorious provision is the Three-Fifths Compromise, proposed by delegate James Wilson …
Constitutional Convention delegates finalize the Electoral College system for selecting presidents, resolving months of contentious debate between those favoring congressional selection and those supporting direct popular vote. The compromise creates an indirect election method where each state …
Constitutional Convention delegatesJames MadisonSouthern state delegatesCommittee of Elevenelectoral-collegethree-fifths-compromiseslaveryinstitutional-corruptionconstitutional-design+1 more
On August 28, 1787, South Carolina delegates Pierce Butler and Charles Pinckney attempt unsuccessfully to include “fugitive slaves” in the Constitution’s extradition clause during Constitutional Convention debates. The following day, August 29, the South Carolina delegation …
Pierce ButlerCharles PinckneyJames MadisonSouth Carolina delegatesCommittee of Stylefugitive-slave-clauseslaveryconstitutional-designinstitutional-corruptionfederal-complicity+1 more
The Constitutional Convention’s Committee of Eleven, chaired by William Livingston of New Jersey, recommends prohibiting Congress from banning slave importation until 1808—initially proposing twelve years but extending to twenty years after southern delegates demand more time. This compromise, …
Committee of ElevenWilliam LivingstonJohn RutledgeCharles PinckneyRoger Sherman+2 moreslaveryslave-tradeconstitutional-designinstitutional-corruptionslave-power+1 more
Gouverneur Morris of Pennsylvania delivers a powerful moral condemnation of slavery during Constitutional Convention debates over representation, attacking the Three-Fifths Compromise and challenging southern delegates who profess little willingness to end slavery in their states. Morris declares …
Gouverneur MorrisJames MadisonSouthern state delegatesPennsylvania delegationslaveryconstitutional-conventionmoral-oppositionthree-fifths-compromiseslave-power
Delegates at the Constitutional Convention reach agreement on the Three-Fifths Compromise, proposed by James Wilson of Pennsylvania and seconded by Charles Pinckney of South Carolina, establishing that enslaved people will be counted as three-fifths of a person for purposes of congressional …
James WilsonCharles PinckneyGouverneur MorrisJames MadisonSouthern state delegates+1 morethree-fifths-compromiseslaveryinstitutional-corruptionelectoral-manipulationconstitutional-design+1 more