Frederick Douglass speaks in New York
Frederick Douglass gives speech in New York, “What to a Slave Is the Fourth of July”.
Uncle Tom's Cabin Published
Harriet Beecher Stowe’s influential abolitionist novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin is published.
Missouri Compromise Repealed
Congress repeals the Missouri Compromise, opening western territories to slavery and setting the stage for a bloody struggle between pro and anti-slavery forces in Kansas Territory.