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The South was done with the United States and felt the need to break away, so one-by-one, they did just that. A month after the secession, South Carolina opened fire on Fort Sumter, starting the Civil War.
Source: https://www.gilderlehrman.org/content/union-dissolved-1860

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In 1860, Abraham Lincoln was elected President of the United States. Lincoln's election meant that the South would now be minority.
Source: http://www.americancivilwarstory.com/abraham-lincoln-1860-autobiography.html

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John Brown's Raid occurred in 1859. During this raid, Brown seized the federal arsenal and armed slaves with weapons. John's plan did not go as arranged; and all of Brown's men (and Brown) were killed/captured.
Source: https://www.missedinhistory.com/podcasts/john-browns-raid-on-harpers-ferry.htm

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The Lincoln-Douglas Debates were a series of arguments between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas on the topic of slavery. Lincoln thought the issue of slavery was moral and Douglas said it could be easily solved by making half the states free, half the states slaved. Both ran for Illinois Senator and because of Douglas' strong debate points, he won.
Source: http://www.abraham-lincoln-history.org/lincoln-douglas-debates-7th-debate-alton-rejoinder/

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The Dred-Scott Decision was a decision made by the Supreme Court that expressed that African Americans would never be considered citizens and that the Missouri Compromise was wrongful. For slaveholders, this decision was great as it hinted towards the end of the slavery debate, in their favor. However, others thought it to be cruel and unjust.
Source: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p2932.html

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Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts was attacked by South Carolina representative,  Preston Brooks, for voicing his opinion on other senators plotting to make Kansas a slave state. This fight and the reactions to it showed how split the country had become.
Source: https://www.massmoments.org/moment-details/sumner-attacked-in-u-s-senate.html

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Once the act was passed, settlers rushed to Kansas. All was calm until May 21, 1854,  when a few proslavery settlers invaded Lawrence, Kansas (where the antislavery government lied). The settlers burned a hotel, threw abolitonists' printing presses into the river, and looted homes.
Source: http://www.sonofthesouth.net/leefoundation/civil-war/1863/september/quantrills-lawrence-kansas-raid.htm

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In 1854, the Nebraska-Kansas Act was passed. This act created two new territories, Nebraska and Kansas. It also got rid of the Missouri Compromise and let the two states (MO, ME) vote on slavery. Northerners were disappointed by the Congress, believing the act would only benefit those who were for slavery.
Source: http://aventalearning.com/content168staging/2008amhista/unit5/html/section_3_page_4.html

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The Fugitive Slave Act stated that all runaway slaves who were caught would be arrested and anyone who assisted fugitives or refused to help catch them would be jailed. Northerners did not want to enforce the act while Southerners felt the act did not enforce enough. It seemed that the Congress had passed another act that people were bothered by.
Source: http://usslave.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-fugitive-slave-law-1860.html

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The Compromise of 1850,  authored by Henry Clay, was able to make everyone pleased. The Compromise admitted California as a free state, allowed New Mexico and Utah Territory to decide if they would permit slavery,  outlawed slave trade in D.C.,  and ensured a strong fugitive law. It took 9 months and the support of Senator Daniel Webster, but in the end, the proposal was accepted.
Source: http://sectionalismtosecession.weebly.com/compromise-of-1850.html

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California applied to the Union as a free state in late 1849. Northerners were overjoyed by this news while Southerners shook their heads in disapproval.  Congress was torn, and once again, deadlocked to think over their decision.
Source: http://sweetclipart.com/multisite/sweetclipart/files/california.png

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In 1846, David Willmot proposed the Willmot Proviso. The Willmot Proviso stated that all the land acquired from the Mexican-American War would prohibit slavery. This document passed House, but was rejected by Senate.
Source: http://www.americaslibrary.gov/assets/aa/polk/aa_polk_wilmot_1_e.jpg

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Slaves continued to escape to the North despite the fact that most revolts had stopped. Many were helped by Northerners who couldn't bear to see them suffer.
Source: http://housemold.biz/house-pictures/Slave-safe-houses-pictures.html

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Unfortunately, the Missouri Compromise did not keep people harmonious. During the year of 1830, abolitionists began to flood the Congress with several antislavery petitions. Congress later voted to table/postpone all antislavery petitions until they could come up with a solution that would satisfy both sides.
Source: https://hsmcpa.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/blog311.jpg

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The Missouri Compromise of 1820  was an agreement made by the Congress under which Missouri was admitted to the Union as a slave state and Maine was admitted as a free state. This compromise was made for the sole purpose of saving the Union from breaking apart.
Source: http://www.compromise-of-1850.org/missouri-compromise-1820/