The fuse which set off the Civil War was lit long before the first shots fired at Fort Sumter. Missouri’s request for admission to the Union in 1820 highlighted the concerns and fears held by both the North and the South regarding sectional balance and power in Congress. The territory’s admission as a slave state would have tipped the balance of power in the Senate in favor of the slave states. As the nation carried out its territorial expansion, the balance of power once again became a national concern. At stake was also control over future territories.
Write a well-organized essay, a minimum of 700 words Including supporting details from the documents and other sources discussing the following statement:
“Expansion brought sectional antagonism to the boiling point, split the Democratic Party in the late 1840s, and set the nation on the path to the Civil War.”
All statements must be supported and all sources must be identified and cited, and included in your reference list.
INSTRUCTIONS:
Read relevant content that discusses the Missouri Compromise.
Closely examine the linked map: Territorial Growth and the Compromise of 1850.
Gather this information:
How did the acquisition of Texas and new territories as a result of the US Mexican War add to the rising tensions between the North and South?
Identify the 15 slave states and 15 free states. What areas remain open to slavery?
Based on the information that you have gathered, as far as the expansion of slavery is concerned, did the South gain or lose from the Compromise of 1850?
How was each section of the country impacted by the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the Dred Scott decision?
Which section of the nation did this Act and decision seem to favor?
How did northerners react?
What does the Bleeding Kansas incident indicate the feasibility of applying “popular sovereignty” to determine the status of future territories?
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