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Importation of slaves ends
The U.S. Constitution banned the importation of slaves, which impacted the ECONOMY by limiting the supply of new slaves, influenced SOCIAL dynamics by focusing on the domestic slave trade, and had POLITICAL implications as it was a compromise between pro- and anti-slavery factions. -
The Missouri Compromise
This compromise was POLITICAL because it admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state, maintaining the balance of power in the Senate. It also established the 36°30′ line, dividing future free and slave territories. -
The Wilmot Proviso
Proposed to ban slavery in any territory acquired from Mexico, this proviso heightened tensions between North and South, though it was never passed. It was a significant POLITICAL move that highlighted the growing sectionalism in the country. -
The Compromise of 1850
Economic: This series of laws admitted California as a free state, Social: allowed popular sovereignty in Utah and New Mexico. Political: It aimed to address the territorial and slavery controversies arising from the Mexican-American War. -
The Fugitive Slave Act
Part of the Compromise of 1850, Social: this act required citizens to assist in the capture of runaway slaves and denied alleged fugitives the right to a jury trial, Political: exacerbating tensions between North and South and inflaming abolitionist sentiment. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Social: Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel depicted the harsh realities of slavery and galvanized anti-slavery sentiment in the North, making it a powerful social influence against the institution of slavery. -
The Kansas Nebraska Act
Political: This act allowed the territories of Kansas and Nebraska to decide on the legality of slavery through popular sovereignty, effectively repealing the Missouri Compromise and leading to violent conflicts known as "Bleeding Kansas." -
Bleeding Kansas
Social: A series of violent confrontations between pro- and anti-slavery settlers in Kansas, Political: this period highlighted the deep divisions and the failure of popular sovereignty as a solution to the slavery issue. -
The Caning of Charles Sumner
Social: After Senator Charles Sumner gave an anti-slavery speech, he was brutally attacked by pro-slavery Congressman Preston Brooks. Political: This event underscored the intense sectional animosity and was a precursor to the Civil War. -
The Dred Scott Decision
Political: The Supreme Court ruled that African Americans were not citizens and that Congress had no authority to prohibit slavery in the territories, invalidating the Missouri Compromise and escalating tensions between North and South.