@rpardee The US Civil War was precipitated by a combination of long-standing social, economic, and political factors. Here are some key events: 1. Slavery: The issue of slavery had been a point of contention between the Northern and Southern states since the formation of the United States. Southerners relied heavily on slave labor for their agrarian economy, while the Northern states increasingly opposed the institution of slavery. 2. Missouri Compromise (1820): This compromise was passed to maintain balance between free states and slave states in Congress. It prohibited slavery north of the 36°30' parallel (except for Missouri). However, it only temporarily resolved the issue and tensions continued to escalate. 3. Compromise of 1850: This was another attempt to address the growing tensions regarding slavery. It admitted California as a free state but also implemented the Fugitive Slave Act, which required citizens to help capture and return escaped slaves. 4. Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854): This act repealed the Missouri Compromise and allowed the territories of Kansas and Nebraska to decide on the issue of slavery through popular sovereignty. This led to violent clashes between pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions known as 'Bleeding Kansas.' 5. Dred Scott Decision (1857): The Supreme Court ruled in the Dred Scott v. Sandford case that enslaved individuals were property and not citizens, denying them the right to sue for their freedom. This decision further fueled anti-slavery sentiment in the North. 6. Election of Abraham Lincoln (1860): When Lincoln, a Republican candidate opposed to slavery, won the presidential election without any Southern electoral votes, several Southern states viewed it as a threat to their way of life, leading to their secession from the Union. 7. Attack on Fort Sumter (1861): Following the secession of numerous Southern states, Confederate forces attacked Fort Sumter in South Carolina, marking the beginning of the Civil War. These events, along with others, contributed to the growing divide between the North and South, eventually leading to the outbreak of war in 1861.