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The Missouri Compromise was a law passed by the Union declaring Missouri a slave state and Maine a free state. This action was made in attempts to preserve the balance between how many free states there were and how many slave states there were. The MO compromise could not have been a lasting solution to the debate between free and slave states because there may have possibly been new state additions, and the balance would have fallen out yet again. The MO compromise also proved that the Southern and Northern states could not work together to come to an agreement.
https://www.history.com/topics/abolitionist-movement/missouri-compromise

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The Wilmot Proviso was made to prevent the spread of slavery throughout the land conquered through the Mexican War. THis idea was proposed by David Wilmot because of his anti-slavery beliefs. The Wilmot Proviso sparked more tension and controversy over the idea of slavery. The Wilmot Proviso was protested against by Southerners who were pro-slavery and thought that the Wilmot Proviso was unfair. Most Southerners supported the idea of slavery since their livelihood was based on agriculture, which at the time was mainly supported through the labour of slaves. Southerners believed that slavery should have been legal anywhere in the U.S. https://ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Wilmot_Proviso#:~:text=Many%20Southerners%20believed%20that%20slavery,African%20Americans%20were%20human%20beings.https://ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Wilmot_Proviso#:~:text=Many%20Southerners%20believed%20that%20slavery,African%20Americans%20were%20human%20beings.https://ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Wilmot_Proviso#:~:text=Many%20Southerners%20believed%20that%20slavery,African%20Americans%20were%20human%20beings.

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The Free Soil Party was a political party made shortly after the Liberty Party's downfall. The general belief of the Free Soilers was that while the government could not abruptly end slavery in the areas slavery was already prominent in, the government could make efforts to prevent the spread of slavery in newly acquired territories. The Free Soilers were not majority abolitionists but instead only considered slaves as economic opponents, and did not desire to fight for African American rights. The Free Soil Party made some political progress, such as contributing to political history in Ohio, and also had power in numbers. A couple of free soilers were even elected for government positions, and while the Whigs and Democrats were evenly divded, the Free Soilers made quite a big impact on legislation as well. The Free Soilers had a lot of influence, and did end up making the Democrats overturn many of the black laws in Ohio at the time.
https://ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Free_Soil_Party

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The Compromise of 1850 was a compromise made by Henry Clay, and made it so that 1. California was a free state. 2. The remainder of the Mexico Cession was divided into New Mexico and Utah without the mention of slavery. 3. Texas's claim of a part of New Mexico was paid off with $10 million dollars. 4. The Fugitive Slave Act was passed, which allowed the arrest of runaway slaves and forced them back to their original slave owners, and 5. The act of buying or selling slaves was banned in the district of Columbia but the act of owning or using slaves was still allowed. Some hurdles that were faced during the making of the Compromise of 1850 was the rising conflicts between the North and the South, and how they may react to the new additions created by the compromise. Another hurdle was the increasing popularity of the Free Soil Party and how that may have affected Henry Clay's decisions.
https://www.ncpedia.org/anchor/compromise-1850

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The Fugitive Slave Acts were a law passed during the Compromise of 1850, that stated that runaway slaves were allowed to be arrested and punished if caught and then returned to their original owners. If a slave was not arrested upon sight of escape by a free man, then the man was liable to a fine of at least $1000. The law caused immediate controversy between the North and the South. Henry Thoreau was one of the few people who harboured fugitive slaves in his home, regardless of the risk. He felt for the slaves and frequently wrote his thoughts during the act in a journal, expressing his frustration.
https://thoreaufarm.org/tag/fugitive-slave-law/

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The Kansas-Nebraska act was a act proposed by Douglas, a politician during the time. Douglas created the Kansas-Nebraska act in order to continue the building of the transcontinental railroad. This caused two new territories (Kansas and Nebraska) to be built, allowed popular sovereignty, and also repealed the Missouri Compromise. In order to pass the law however, Douglas needed pro-slavery votes. Douglas wanted to repeal the Missouri Compromise in favour of his own Kansas-Nebraska act in order to continue the building of the Transcontinental Railroad.
https://www.history.com/topics/19th-century/kansas-nebraska-act

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Bleeding Kansas (sack of Lawrence)/(Pottawatomie Massacre)

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Bleeding Kansas (sack of Lawrence)/(Pottawatomie Massacre)

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The sack of Lawrence was an attack organized and led by John Brown, who had created an antislavery group in order to attack. The attack cause the death of five men from a proslavery settlement on Pottawatomie Creek, Kansas. If the Missouri Compromise had not been repealed, this attack would have been prevented. This is because Kansas would not have existed, nor would slavery be allowed in that area. That means that antislavery people would not have to attack people who were proslavery because slaves would not have been allowed there.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/abolitionism-European-and-American-social-movement

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The Dred Scott vs Sanford case was a decade long battle for the freedom of a black man named Dred Scott. His case was so controversial it was even brought to the attention of the Supreme Court, and served as a stepping stone to the Civil War's development. Dred Scott was a black man born enslaved. However, when one of his owners(Emerson) moved to an area that had outlawed slavery, he married his wife Harriet in a rare allowed marriage. A little while later Emerson ended up marring Irene(Eliza) Sanford. Scott and his wife then accompanied Emerson's family on and off throughout their journey. However, once Emerson died, ownership of Scott was transferred to Irene. Irene refused to allow Scott and his wife become free, even after Scott's multiple attempts of trying to purchase his freedom. Scott and his wife later up sued Irene for wrongful enslavement, as well as the fact Scott was taken to an area where he was freed and then forced to become enslaved once again (that practice was illegal). Since neither Scott nor his wife could write, his friends and even his previous owners stood up for him. The Supreme Court should not always be trusted because on Scott's first attempt to become a free man, he was refused, and had to be granted a retrial where he was then allowed free. Irene then appealed, and Scott was enslaved again, where his other attempt at becoming a free man was refused. It was only after Irene married an abolitionist of the name Calvin Chaffee was Scott finally granted freedom. In the case of Dred Scott, the Supreme Court was definitely bias and therefore untrustworthy of judging.
https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/dred-scott-case

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The Lincoln-Douglas debates were a series of seven debates between Stephen A. Douglas and Abraham Lincoln. The debates occurred during the 1858 Illinois senatorial campaign, where they discussed the issue of slavery extension. The slavery issue had been solved and unsolved multiple times, the last time ending when the Kansas-Nebraska Act replaced the Missouri Compromise in favour of popular sovereignty. This action caused the creation of the Republican party. Douglas was constantly trying to paint Lincoln as a bad man, while Lincoln was busy shedding hatred on popular sovereignty. When the Dred Scott case was brought up (that neither states nor territories were allowed to make slavery illegal), Douglas pointed out people could escape that by just simply enforcing 'slave codes'. The Freeport Doctrine made it so that antislavery and proslavery could come to a compromise by using popular sovereignty to determine whether or not slavery could be legal or illegal. While Douglas was still supported by Northerners, his national leader position was greatly diminished in the eyes of the South.
https://www.britannica.com/event/Lincoln-Douglas-debates

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Abolitionist John Brown led a raid on the Harpers Ferry armory in attempts to spark an armed revolt of enslaved people in order to destroy the institution of slavery. John spent much of his life in bankruptcy and had multiple lawsuits filed against him, but his life turned when he became an abolitionist. Him and his family were all antislavery supporters, and he was one of the main leaders of the Pottawatomie Creek attack. He developed a group of abolitionists called 'The Secret Six', and grew his group to larger then 20 men. However, his plan was foiled when U.S marines surrounded and overran him and his group, and killed 10 of his men. Brown was then trialed for murder and treason, and was found guilty. John Brown was not justified in his plan, because he had no right or reason to attack the proslavery people, and also caused multiple unnecessary deaths.
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/john-browns-raid-on-harpers-ferry

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The U.S 1860 Presidential Election was the election when Abraham Lincoln beat his three other competitors : Southern Democrat John Breckinridge, long-term opponent Democrat Stephen Douglas, and Constitutional Candidate John Bell. The split between votes during this election symbolized the division between states (North and South), and was primarily supported by the controversial opinion on whether or not slavery should be made illegal. This election would eventually become to be known as the election that started the civil war. Both Lincoln and Douglas received strong support from the North, while Breckinridge and Bell tried to gain support from the South. Lincoln won the election by quite a bit, coming in with a little less then 40% of votes while Douglas dragged behind with a little less then 30% of the votes. Breckinridge and Bell both stood no chance as Lincoln also swept the North and a few coastal areas and won with 180 electoral votes. The division of election parties caused split of votes, and since the groups had not worked together in the slightest, most of them failed to gain enough votes. Before Lincoln's inauguration, seven southern states had already seceded, and less then a month after Lincoln became president (officially), the Civil War had officially begun. The 1860 election is now widely referred to as the first of the three most important/'critical' elections of major U.S history.
https://www.britannica.com/event/United-States-presidential-election-of-1860

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Secession was the withdrawal of 11 U.S states. These 11 states were slaveholding states (states that allowed slavery/slavery was legal). Following the 1860 Election, the secession of these 11 states watered the growing sprout of the Civil War.  Secession was always a reoccurring thought, though never fully discussed. The MO compromise had quieted the idea of seceding states for a while, until it was appealed by the Kansas-Nebraska Act. When the Republican Party was formed, Southerners vowed that if a Republican president was elected, they would secede. Eventually, when Abraham Lincoln was elected, South Carolina seceded. It was then followed by Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and Louisiana. A month after Lincoln's inauguration, Virginia, North Carolina, Arkansas, and Tennessee seceded as well. On April 12, 1861, the Civil war officially begun. Secession most likely would never have been a long term solution since the constant disagreements between the North and the South, and both sections depended on each other for resources. Neither section could function without the other, especially due to the differing climate and geography.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/secession

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The battle of Fort Sumter was the opening engagement to the Civil War. It was located at the harbour of Charleston, South Carolina. Considered as an important symbol to the union, the fort was unfinished and named after Thomas Sumter, a general who won many key victories during the American Revolution. When South Carolina seceded, Francis Pickens sent commissioners to Washington D.C while planning to claim possession of the forts in Charleston as well as all other U.S properties in the state. When Picken's commissioners requested for troop backup, they were refused. A peace conference was made in Virginia, in order to accommodate for the Southerners, however Lincoln refused the demands the South made. Former president Buchanan sent an unarmed steamer to Fort Sumter containing supplies and resources, however they turned back when they were shot at in the harbour. When six other states seceded, the governors seized all forts and arsenals, excluding Fort Pickens in Florida. Delegates from the seceding states met up in Montgomery, Alabama and created the Confederate States of America, where they then appointed Jefferson Davis as their new president. Seven southern states had already seceded, and eight of them remained in the Union. However, any slight attempt of coercion could push them over the edge into seceding as well. Neither side wanted war, and the North had even considered to let the South go in peace. Lincoln still chose to go after Fort Sumter however, and emerged victorious.  Lincoln remained peaceful and had sent a relief expedition containing only food supplies, and if the Federal flag was shot at, the Confederates would have made the first move of the war.
https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Fort-Sumter