How does the issue of slavery begin to divide nation?

The issue of slavery began to divide the United States in the early 19th century. The main reason for this division was the contrast between the Northern and Southern states. The North was mostly industrial and urban, with a growing population of free laborers. The South was mostly agricultural, with a plantation economy based on slave labor.

Northerners were increasingly opposed to slavery on moral grounds, while Southerners defended it as necessary for their economic survival. This conflict was exacerbated by political disputes over westward expansion and the balance of power between the North and South.

In 1820, the Missouri Compromise temporarily resolved the issue of slavery by admitting Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state. However, this compromise only delayed the inevitable conflict. In the 1830s and 1840s, the abolitionist movement grew stronger in the North, and tensions between the North and South escalated.

In 1848, the Mexican-American War led to the acquisition of new territories in the West. This reopened the debate over slavery, as Southerners wanted to extend slavery into the new territories, while Northerners opposed it.

In 1854, the Kansas-Nebraska Act repealed the Missouri Compromise and allowed the people of Kansas and Nebraska to decide for themselves whether to allow slavery. This led to a bloody conflict known as "Bleeding Kansas," and further deepened the divide between the North and South.

In 1860, Abraham Lincoln, a Republican opposed to the expansion of slavery, was elected president. This led to the secession of several Southern states and the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861. The Civil War was fought primarily over the issue of slavery, and ended in 1865 with the abolition of slavery and the victory of the Union.