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The Missouri Compromise

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The tension between the North and the South grew rapidly in the 19th century. The Missouri Compromise, Compromise of 1850 and the Kansas Nebraska Act are just some of the events that contributed to this. The reason that this tension grew was because during these events, the North and South had different views on the events. Sometimes the South would agree but the North would disagree and that caused problems. The Missouri Compromise was the starting point for this rapid growth. It took place in 1820 and permitted Maine to be admitted into the union as a free state and Missouri as a slave state. When this happened, it maintained the balance of the Senate. Now, southern slave owners have a clear right to pursue escaped fugitives that went …show more content…
This means that the Kansas and Nebraska territory would form together and enter the Union but to win the South’s support, the slavery was decided by popular sovereignty. This undid the Missouri Compromise. The North liked the part where they got the Kansas and Nebraska territory but felt betrayed when the South got to decide the slavery. When the South heard that they get to decide the slavery, the supported it where before they objected. Because of this, people from the North and South went to Kansas to vote for slavery or anti slavery. This was called Bleeding Kansas. Bleeding Kansas took place in Kansas in 1855. People from the North and South went to vote to determine the slavery that would take place in Kansas and Nebraska. The outrage and tension was so huge that it broke into violence. Only 56 people died during this outrage. When this ended, a guy named Charles Sumner went to the Senate and gave a speech against slavery which some people took to …show more content…
Senate in 1856. A man named Preston Brooks walked into the Senate and beat Sumner with a heavy cane until he was unconscious. Why did this happen? Well that is because Sumner accused Brooks’ uncle, Senator Andrew Butler, of being an imbecile and said, “Senator Butler has chosen a mistress. I mean the harlot, slavery.” Brooks took this very offensive and went off on Sumner. To the North this just showed more evidence that slavery was brutal and inhuman. The South, on the other hand, thought Sumner got what he deserved. This made a lot of discussion about the topic Sumner was talking about, slavery.
In 1857, an enslaved man named Dred Scott, whose owners took him to free states and territories, sued for his freedom. At this time it held that, “no person of color whose ancestors were imported into the U.S., and sold into slavery”, enslaved or free, was not an American citizen therefore cannot sue in court. Dred Scott’s request was denied. The North supported him in all ways but the South agreed with the court. During this a man named John Brown, who was with the North, was planning

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