# data[].attributes.body
The treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo ended the Mexican-American War and ceded the territories of California and New Mexico to the United States. Under the Missouri Compromise, much of this new territory would be admitted to the union as slave states, upsetting the careful balance in government.

# data[].attributes.body
A short-lived political party which opposed the westward expansion of slavery and later merged into the Republican party. The division between proslavery and antislavery parties in government led to a separation and eventually secession.

# data[].attributes.body
Zachary Taylor was a member of the Whigs, but he did not express his opinion on slavery. This led the South to vote for him as they believed he supported it and the North to think he opposed it. This demonstrates the stark divide between North and South which eventually led to the Civil War.

# data[].attributes.body
After the Mexican-American War, the U.S. had a large amount of unorganized territory stretching from Texas to California. The Compromise of 1850 allowed for the admittance of California as a free state, established Texas' borders, and ceded parts of Texas to the new territories of New Mexico and Arizona. It also banned the slave trade (but not slavery) in D.C, as well as creating a harsh fugitive slave law. Its goal was to keep the careful balance between the slave and free states, but it only delayed the issue, not solve it. This raised tensions and led to a bigger conflict (the Civil War) than if the issue had been solved in 1850.

# data[].attributes.body
The Act required that all escaped slaves be returned to their owners, even if they had escaped to a free state. If anyone claimed someone was a slave, even if they had been free all their life, they could be sent back to a plantation in the South. Many Northerners, specifically those with abolitionist sentiments, strongly disliked and disagreed with the Act. It created some resentment among all people and further divided the North and South.

# data[].attributes.body
A book by Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom's Cabin depicts the struggles of Tom, a slave. It displayed anti-slavery sentiments and had a profound impact on the opinions of the American populace and their attitude towards slavery.

# data[].attributes.body
Franklin Pierce was the Democratic candidate for the 1852 election. He won, beating out General Winfield Scott, the Whig nominee. However, Pierce was firmly against abolition and hampered the movement through signing the Kansas-Nebraska Act and enforcing the fugitive slave law.

# data[].attributes.body
The act created the territories of Nebraska and Kansas and also gave them the ability of popular sovereignty, meaning they could choose to permit or not permit slavery themselves. This directly violated the Missouri Compromise as both states were above the 36o30' line which separated slave and free states. Because of this ruling, thousands of pro and anti-slavery settlers rushed in to try and influence the state's ruling. The "solution" of letting the states decide shows how divided the government was, with neither side being able to take a firm stance, which shows the division which led to the Civil War.

# data[].attributes.body
Pierce's election saw the Whigs down to getting 5% of the votes, with the Free Soil Party not so popular either. Eventually, the Whigs and Free Soil banded together and became known as the Republicans. Other members of the party included Northern protestants, factory workers, businessmen, and people like Abraham Lincoln and Henry Jarvis Raymond. They were anti-slavery and later fought against the Confederate States.

# data[].attributes.body
Due to the Kansas and Nebraska acts, many different groups flocked to Kansas in hopes of getting it admitted under their belief system. The three major groups, pro-slavery, free-soilers, and abolitionists, broke out in violence. Americans fought against each other for years until Kansas was finally admitted as a free state in 1861. This progression from arguing in government to citizens being violent shows just how tense the situation had gotten.

# data[].attributes.body
After Republican abolitionist senator Charles Sumner gave his speech about the crimes he believed democratic senators had committed in Kansas, those who supported slavery were outraged. One of these people was representative Preston Brooks. Three days after the speech, Representative Brooks waited until the senate meeting had concluded. He then walked into the senate chamber and proceeded to beat Sumner into unconsciousness with his cane and calmly leave. Sumner was rushed to get medical attention and survived. Both men became heroes for their respective sides, but the violence painted an eerie picture of the state of unity in the nation.

# data[].attributes.body
Republican candidate James Buchanan was elected president in 1860, beating out his opponents from the democratic and know-nothing parties. He was a firm believer in States rights, particularly in the belief that states should be allowed to choose for themselves whether slavery would be allowed in the state. This led to conflicts in deciding states that often would turn violent.

# data[].attributes.body
Dred Scott was a slave from Missouri, however from 1833-1843 he and his master lived in Illinois and the Louisiana Territory, both places where slavery was banned. After they moved back to Missouri, Scott sued for his freedom claiming that since he had lived in a free state, he is a free man. The supreme court ruled 7-2 against Scott claiming that no descendant of a slave could be an American citizen. While a victory for southern slave owners. This decision outraged northern states and contributed to the growth of sectionalism in America.

# data[].attributes.body
Created in Kansas in 1858. Kansas was a divided state home to both slave owners and abolitionists. Slave owners were determined to write a constitution that would ensure slave rights. When the abolitionists living in Kansas found out about this they boycotted and the strongly pro-slavery Lecompton Constitution was drafted. It was never put into affect but contributed strongly to the division in Kansas.

# data[].attributes.body
John Brown was an abolitionist who, in 1859, led a slave revolt that attempted to capture the US arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia. Their attempt was unsuccessful and John Brown was sentenced to death. This further convinced southerners that the north was coming to take their slaves and was called a dress rehearsal for the civil war.

# data[].attributes.body
Abraham Lincoln was the head of the new anti-slavery Republican party. Many Southerners believed that his election would begin the process that would end slavery. Some southern states began to consider secession, thinking it might be the only way to keep the institution of slavery alive.

# data[].attributes.body
South Carolina believed that Abraham Lincoln would be the death of Slavery in America, and thus decided to secede. This contributed to sectionalism as tensions continued to grow between the northern United States and the new southern Union.

# data[].attributes.body
An proposal to permanently cement slavery in the US constitution. Had it been successful, it would have made it unconstitutional to end slavery in the future. This raised tensions between the North and South further contributing to sectionalism.