The fuse which set off the Civil War was lit long before the first shots fired at Fort Sumter. Missouri's request for admission to the Union in 1820 highlighted the concerns and fears held by both the North and the South regarding sectional balance and power in Congress. The territory's admission as a slave state would have tipped the balance of power in the Senate in favor of the slave states. As the nation carried out its territorial expansion, the balance of power once again became a national concern. At stake was also control over future territories.

INSTRUCTIONS:

As you complete your readings, identify the relevant information that addresses and answers the questions that correspond to key points. These questions will assist you in understanding the content and to prepare for the essay.

• Review relevant content in Chapter 9 of the textbook which discusses the Missouri Compromise.
• Review and identify relevant sections in Chapter 14 which support your analysis and discussion.
• Closely examine the linked map:Territorial Growth and the Compromise of 1850. It can also be viewed in Chapter 14 of your textbook. Gather this information:
  1. How did the acquisition of Texas and new territories as a result of the US Mexican War add to the rising tensions between the North and South?
  2. Identify the 15 slave states and 15 free states. What areas remain open to slavery?
  3. Based on the information that you have gathered, as far as the expansion of slavery is concerned, did the South gain or lose from the Compromise of 1850?

Review and identify relevant sections of Chapter 15 and consider the following questions:

1. How was each section of the country impacted by the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the Dred Scott decision?
2. Which section of the nation did this Act and decision seem to favor?
3. How did northerners react?
4. What does the Bleeding Kansas incident indicate about the feasibility of applying "popular sovereignty" to determine the status of future territories?

PREPARE AND SUBMIT:

Write a well organized essay, a minimum of 700 words (but not limited to), including supporting details from the documents/textbook/other sources in which you analyze and discuss the material that has been assigned as it relates to the following statement:

"Expansion brought sectional antagonism to the boiling point, split the Democratic Party in the late 1840s, and set the nation on the path to the Civil War."