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In 1820, Congress passed the Missouri Compromise. This law allowed Missouri to be a slave-state but, at the same time, this admitted Maine as a free state.
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In 1848, the Mexican-American War in favor of the United States adding new territories to the United States
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A law passed by Congress in 1850 that said escaped slaves in free states had to be returned to their owners.
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The novel called "Uncle Tom's Cabin" is a very important story containing powerful anti-slavery perspectives written by Harriet Beecher Stowe.
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In 1854, the government passed the Kansas-Nebraska Act which allowed the residents of Kansas to vote on whether they would be a slave state or a free state.
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In 1856, representative Preston Brooks of South Carolina walked into the Senate and started beating Massachusetts senator Charles Sumner in response to a speech he gave.
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A decision made by the Supreme Court that in 1857, said Congress could not outlaw slavery and that people of African descent were not necessarily U.S. citizens.
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In 1859, abolitionist John Brown tried to lead a slave uprising in Virginia. His efforts cost him his life, but his cause lived on when the slaves were set free six years later.
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In 1860, Abraham Lincoln was elected as president. He led the nation through the Civil War. He was also notable for his great speeches. Lincoln's rise in politics was one of the greatest American stories.
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The Lecompton Constitution supported the existence of slavery in the proposed state and protected rights of slaveholders and the Constitution was rejected by Kansans, and Kansas was admitted to the Union as a free state in 1861.
