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Compromise of 1850
1850 The Compromise of 1850 was proposed by Kentucky Senator Henry Clay to resolve sectional issues in the United States regarding slavery after the Mexican-American War. When delegates to the Constitutional Convention assembled in Philadelphia in 1787, one of the more daunting tasks that they faced was resolving sectional differences between the North and South…
Confiscation Act of 1861
1861 Enacted by Congress and signed by President Lincoln on August 6, 1861, the Confiscation Act of 1861 declared fugitive slaves used or employed in aiding, abetting, or promoting war against the United States to be contraband and stripped the proprietors of such slaves to their rights to ownership. On May 23, 1861, three slaves,…
Confiscation Act of 1862
1862 Enacted by Congress and signed by President Lincoln on July 16, 1862, the Confiscation Act of 1862 expanded the scope of the Confiscation Act of 1861 and moved the United States towards universal emancipation and the abolition of slavery. When the American Civil War began in April 1861, many believed that the conflict, like…
Conscription Act
March 3, 1863 On March 3, 1863 the United States President Abraham Lincoln signed the Conscription Act (aka the Enrollment Act), which required states to implement conscription (a draft) if they were unable to provide a proscribed number of volunteers for the Union forces during the Civil War. By late 1862, as initial fervor for…
Crittenden Compromise
1861–1862 Proposed by Kentucky Senator John J. Crittenden on December 18, 1860, the Crittenden Compromise, also known as the Crittenden Plan, was an unsuccessful eleventh-hour attempt to save the Union and to avoid the American Civil War, but the agreement was never adopted by the Senate. When the Republican Party assembled in Chicago from May…
Daniel WebsterSenate Speech on the Compromise of 1850 (Transcript)
March 7, 1850 Transcript of a speech Daniel Webster delivered on the floor of the United States Senate on March 7, 1850 in support of the Compromise of 1850. Mr. President: I wish to speak to-day, not as a Massachusetts man, nor as a Northern man, but as an American, and a member of the…
Dred Scott Decision
1857
Emancipation Proclamation
1863 Issued by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation stated that people held in slavery in areas designated in rebellion against the United States to be freed from bondage. At its inception, the American Civil War was portrayed by leaders on both sides primarily as a political conflict. For over fifty…
Enrollment Act
March 3, 1863