What Happened in Dec 1851

Harriet Tubman guides eleven slave fugitives to Canada

Because the Fugitive Slave Law had made the northern United States more dangerous for escaped slaves, many began migrating further north to Canada.... Read more

Lincoln Represents the Alton & Sangamon Railroad

In 1851, he represented the Alton & Sangamon Railroad in a dispute with one of its shareholders, James A. Barret. Barret had refused to pay the... Read more

Gadsden Secures Land To Serve As The Dividing Line For The Two Californias

Gadsden had supported nullification in 1831, and he advocated secession by South Carolina in 1850 when California was admitted to the Union as a... Read more