March 20 Major Events in World History

1848

King Ludwig I of Bavaria abdicates in favor of his son on 20 March 1848 amid the German revolutions of 1848–49, as liberal uprisings sweep across the German states.

1852

Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin is published in the US on 20 March 1852, profoundly influencing public opinion on slavery in the antebellum period.

1854

On 20 March 1854, political opponents of slavery organize the first meeting of the United States Republican Party in Ripon, Wisconsin, forming a new party dedicated to ending slavery’s expansion.