"Mayor events before the civil war"

Around 1858, the United States was divided geographically-north and south with the south that depended on agriculture and slave labor, and the north became more industrialized. They both had different religions, climates etc. They believed in different things and opinions. The south got slaves to do many of the agriculture things. The north didn't at all depend on slaves because they were against that and was more modern and improved.
         The country was so divided by the issue of slavery, California needed the compromise of 1850 in order to become a state. There was an argument about this and if the north and south didnt agree on the compromise then California wouldnt be able to become a state so it had to be through popular soverinty.
         Around this time, many southerners were considering secession. Many thought that slavery was the problem between states rights of self determination and federal government control. So they decided to act.
         Many people from the north hated slavery, so they helped slaves become free. Those people were called abolitionists. They helped slaves escape through the underground railroad. Abolitionists risked their own lives to help slaves become free because they hated slavery.
         When  Uncle Tom's Cabin was published, it angered northern abolitionists because they already hated slavery. Southerners were annoyed because it criticized their way of living. The south thought it was an attack on them on how they work things. It increased the north to increase protests against the fugitive slave act.
         Two politicians became famous for they slavery debates which were Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas. Lincoln debated that he didnt want slavery. He wanted to abolish it. On the other hand, Douglas didnt want slavery either but it was the states decision to decide whether or not they wanted slavery.
         On December 20, 1860 Lincoln won and the first state to secede was South Carolina. Afterwards, more southern states followed in the South Carolina's footsteps. They saw that slavery was eventually going to come to an end so they knew they would economically have trouble and so decided to secede.