“A house divided against itself can not stand,” he declared, “I do not expect the Union to be dissolved. I do not expect the house to fall; but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing, or all the other. Either the opponents of slavery will arrest the further spread of it, and put it in course of ultimate extinction; or its advocates will push it forward till it shall become alike lawful in all the states, old, as well as new.”

 “This momentous question, like a fire bell in the night, awakened me and filled me with terror. I consider it at once as the (funeral bells) of the Union……We have the wolf by the ears, and we can neither hold him, nor safely let him go.”  Thomas Jefferson, April 22, 1820.

 Industrial Economy  Railroads increased commerce  Yankee Clippers increased foreign trade  New Machines helped produce more goods  Many new immigrants supplied labor  Trade unions formed  African-Americans faced discrimination

 Agricultural Economy  Limited industry  Few large cities  Cotton was “King”  Cotton gin increased planters’ profits and the need for slavery  Slavery was necessary and important to the economy.  Slave Codes Exist  With Such great differences in social, geographic, political, economic and cultural values sectionalism developed within the north and the south.  Sectionalism: Loyalty to a state or section rather than a whole country

 As the country expanded westward, populations expanded and therefore territories made efforts to apply for statehood.  By 1819, 11 free states and 11 slave states made up the United States. By allowing new territories to join either as free, or slave states, it would shift the balance of power in the Senate toward one side or the other. In order to add new states, a compromise would need to be reached.

 Created in 1820 by Henry Clay.  Missouri- slave state  Maine- Free state  36, 30N- Line drawn (North of the line- free, South of the line- slave state.)

 California- Free State  Rest of the Mexican Cession (New Mexico and Utah territories) would be decided based on Popular Sovereignty.  Washington D.C.- Slave trade is banned. Slaves states can continue to trade between themselves.  Strict Fugitive Slave Law- All citizens must help catch runaway slaves, and return them to the south as property. If they do not they can face a fine and jail time.  Judges would decided if slaves were runaways. If they sent slaves back they would earn ten dollars. If they did not, they would only earn five.

 While the Compromise of 1850 settled the issue of slavery in the lands of the Mexican Cession, no decision had been made for the lands of the Louisiana Purchase since the Missouri Compromise.  The largest piece of undecided land was known as the Nebraska Territory. Knowing that white southerners did not want to add another free state to the Union, Stephen Douglas proposed the Kansas-Nebraska act. This act would divide the Nebraska territory into two territories, Kansas and Nebraska. The settlers living in each territory would decide the issue of slavery through popular sovereignty.

 Southern leaders especially supported this act. They believed popular sovereignty was the best method in deciding the interests of new states.  These southern leaders were also sure slave owners from neighboring Missouri would move their slaves into Kansas and in time Kansas would become a slave state.  President Franklin Pierce also supported this bill and helped to quickly push it through Congress.  Many northerners were unhappy with the new law. They believed the Missouri Compromise had already banned slavery in these areas. They believed by passing the Kansas-Nebraska act, it would repeal the Missouri Compromise.  Slavery could now spread to areas that had been free lands since the Missouri Compromise.  This division would quickly lead to violence.

 “On the morning of the election, before the polls were opened, some 300 or 400 Missourians and others were collected in the yard….where the election was to be held, armed with bowie-knives, revolvers, and clubs. They said they came to vote, and whip the….Yankees, and would vote without being sworn. Some said they came for a fight, and wanted one.”

 On the day of the elections to decide the issue of slavery many new arrivals had already come from neighboring states. Many anti- slavery settlers from New-England came to Missouri to buy cheap land.  Proslavery settlers also came from across the border in Missouri to make sure antislavery forces did not control the area. These people were known as Border Ruffians.  In 1855, during elections for state legislatures, hundreds of Border Ruffians crossed into Kansas illegally and voted in proslavery representatives, who decided on strict proslavery laws.  Antislavery setters refused to accept the laws and elected their own government. With two governments in place, armed gangs roamed the streets looking for fights.

 With violence erupting throughout the nation, many turned to the courts to help decide the issue of slavery.  Unfortunately for those against slavery, a sweeping decision was made that had the potential to change the nation, and the fate of all African- Americans.

 Dred Scott had been a slave for many years in Missouri, and eventually moved with his owner to the free states of Illinois and Wisconsin territory.  After returning to Missouri, Scott’s owner died. Antislavery lawyers helped Scott to file a lawsuit arguing that because Scott had lived in a free territory, he had become a free man.  This case reached the Supreme Court which stated:  1) Dred Scott could not file a lawsuit because as an enslaved person he was not a citizen.  2) The ruling stated that all slaves are to be considered property.  3) Congress does not have the power to outlaw slavery in any territory, meaning the Missouri Compromise was Unconstitutional.