1. Compromise of 1850: In an attempt to resolve tensions over the expansion of slavery into newly acquired territories, the Compromise of 1850 was passed by Congress. It included the admission of California as a free state, the creation of the Utah and New Mexico territories without specifying their status on slavery, the end of the slave trade in Washington, D.C., and the enactment of the Fugitive Slave Act. However, the compromise failed to bring lasting peace, as it further inflamed tensions between the North and South.
2. Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854): This act repealed the Missouri Compromise of 1820 and allowed the settlers of Kansas and Nebraska to determine their status on slavery through popular sovereignty. The act further heightened sectional tensions and led to the rise of the anti-slavery Republican Party.
3. Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857): In this landmark Supreme Court case, the Court ruled that enslaved people were not citizens of the United States and could not sue in federal court. The decision denied the possibility of enslaved individuals gaining legal rights and escalated the conflict over slavery.
4. Lincoln-Douglas Debates (1858): A series of seven debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas during their U.S. Senate race in Illinois addressed issues such as slavery, popular sovereignty, and the future of the Union. While Lincoln lost the election, the debates brought national attention to his moderate anti-slavery views and helped shape public opinion on the issue.
5. John Brown's Raid (1859): Abolitionist John Brown led an armed raid on a federal armory in Harpers Ferry, Virginia, with the intention of arming enslaved individuals and inciting a slave rebellion. The failed raid further intensified sectional tensions and heightened fears in the South about slave insurrections.
Ultimately, despite these attempts to prevent the conflict, the deep divisions over slavery and states' rights proved insurmountable, leading to the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861.