a union in peril: the sectional crisis of the early nineteenth century, 1820-1861

A Union in Peril: The Sectional Crisis

of the Early Nineteenth Century,

1820-1861

Key Events: The Sectional Crisis

1. Missouri Compromise of 1820

Missouri Compromise of 1820

Key Events: The Sectional Crisis

1. Missouri Compromise of 18202. Mexican War (1846-1848)

James K. Polk

President from 1845-1849

Mexican War,

1846-1848

Results of the Mexican War

Key Events: The Sectional Crisis

1. Missouri Compromise of 18202. Mexican War (1846-1848)3. Compromise of 1850

Compromise of 1850

Key Events: The Sectional Crisis

1. Missouri Compromise of 18202. Mexican War (1846-1848)3. Compromise of 18504. Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854

Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854

Key Events: The Sectional Crisis

1. Missouri Compromise of 18202. Mexican War (1846-1848)3. Compromise of 18504. Kansas-Nebraska Act of 18545. Dred Scott Decision (1857)

Dred Scott and Family

Key Events: The Sectional Crisis

1. Missouri Compromise of 18202. Mexican War (1846-1848)3. Compromise of 18504. Kansas-Nebraska Act of 18545. Dred Scott Decision (1858)6. Raid on Harper’s Ferry (1859)

John Brown

Radical Abolitionist

Harper’s Ferry, Virginia

Brown’s Martyrdom

“If it is deemed necessary that I should forfeit my life for the furtherance of the ends of justice, and mingle my blood further with the blood of my children and with the blood of millions in this slave country whose rights are disregarded by wicked, cruel, and unjust enactments,--I submit, so let it be done!”

John Brown, 1859

Summary

• Expansionist ambition and Manifest Destiny re-energized the debate over slavery’s expansion

• Maintaining a balance between free states and slave states was seen as one way to keep the Union together

• These compromises resolved the issue temporarily, not permanently