Cause: The Mexican Cession happened after the U.S. won the Mexican-American War

Effects:The U.S. gained a lot of new land, but it created the question of whether slavery should be allowed in the new territories.

The Mexican Cession made the fight over slavery even worse, leading to events like Bleeding Kansas, where violence broke out over whether Kansas would be a free or slave state.

The Mexican Cession was controversial because it brought up the debate over slavery.

Cause: To help Southern slaveowners get their runaway slaves back.

Effects: It angered many people, especially in the North, because it forced them to help capture runaway slaves and send them back to the South, even if they didn’t want to.

The law made Northerners angry and helped start make the book, which showed how inhuman slavery was and spread anti slavery thought. The Fugitive Slave Law was controversial because it forced Northerners to help catch runaway slaves, even if they were against slavery, Southerners supported the law because it helped protect their property rights, ensuring they could get their slaves back no matter where they escaped.

Cause: The book was written by Harriet Beecher Stowe in 1852 as a response to the Fugitive Slave Law and the brutal realities of slavery. She wanted to show how cruel slavery was.

Effect:The book became very popular and helped spread anti slavery feelings in the North, making more people oppose slavery.

The book was controversial because it portrayed slavery as cruel and evil, which upset Southerners who defended it. Northerners loved the book because it made them more determined to end slavery. Southerners hated it because they felt it spread lies and unfairly attacked their way of life.

Cause: Created to organize the land gained from the Louisiana Purchase and decide whether it would allow slavery, letting settlers vote.

Effects: led to violent conflicts in Kansas between pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers, known as Bleeding Kansas, and it divided the country even more over slavery later on leading to the civil war

The act was controversial because it allowed slavery to spread into areas where it had been banned, angering many Northerners. Northerners were upset because they felt it was a betrayal of the Missouri Compromise, which had kept slavery out of certain areas. Southerners supported it because it gave them a chance to expand slavery into new territories.

Context: This took place during the height of tensions between Pro-slavery democrats and abolitionist republican, symbolizing the breakdown of civil debate in the government.

Analysis: Abolitionists and Republicans around America saw Charles Sumner as a martyr for their cause, but overall deepened sectional divisions.

Context: The case was brought to the Supreme Court to discuss if there was any way to restrict slavery into new territory. With the past decade of debate about slavery, the conversation of restriction was so important to the north.

Analysis: This decision further supported the Kansas-Nebraska act by deeming the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional. This was met by fury from the north, making further compromises virtually impossible.

Context: Similar to violent revolts like that of Nat Turner, Brown wanted to show the south that slavery would not stand and it will be taken away by force if necessary.

Analysis: The north saw Brown as a hero to abolition, while the south saw him and others like him as a threat. Tensions were already high and this display of violence only pushed further toward war.