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Year: 1820

Summary: Admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state while banning slavery north of the 36°30′ line in the Louisiana Territory.

Benefiting Region: Both—temporarily balanced power between free and slave states.

Significance: Delayed conflict but set a precedent for sectional disputes over slavery, contributing to future tensions leading to the Civil War.

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Year: 1840s-1850s

Summary: The belief that the U.S. was destined to expand westward, leading to territorial growth and conflicts over slavery.

Benefiting Region: The South (expansion of slavery) and the West (economic growth).

Significance: Increased sectional tensions as new territories reignited the slavery debate.

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Year: 1846-1848

Summary: War between the U.S. and Mexico, resulting in U.S. acquisition of vast western lands.

Benefiting Region: The South (potential expansion of slavery) and the West (new land for settlement).

Significance: Intensified disputes over slavery in new territories, worsening North-South divisions.

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Year: 1820s-1860s

Summary: Increasing cultural, economic, and political differences between the North and South, especially regarding slavery.

Benefiting Region: Neither—this division hurt national unity.

Significance: Laid the foundation for secession and civil war.

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Year: 1850

Summary: A package of laws attempting to ease tensions by admitting California as a free state, strengthening the Fugitive Slave Act, and allowing popular sovereignty in some territories.

Benefiting Region: The North (California as a free state), the South (stronger Fugitive Slave Act).

Significance: Temporarily postponed war but deepened sectional hostility.

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Year: 1850s

Summary: Allowed territories to vote on slavery, leading to violent conflict in places like Kansas.

Benefiting Region: Initially seemed neutral, but led to chaos that harmed both sides.

Significance: Fueled tensions and violence, pushing the nation closer to war.

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Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)

Year: 1854

Summary: Allowed popular sovereignty in Kansas and Nebraska, repealing the Missouri Compromise.

Benefiting Region: South (opened territories to slavery).

Significance: Led to "Bleeding Kansas" and intensified North-South tensions.

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Year: 1857

Summary: Supreme Court ruled African Americans weren’t citizens and Congress couldn’t ban slavery in territories.

Benefiting Region: South (expanded potential for slavery).

Significance: Invalidated Missouri Compromise, angering the North.