Compromise of 1850: This series of measures, proposed by Senator Henry Clay, aimed to resolve the issue of slavery in the territories acquired from the Mexican-American War. It admitted California as a free state, organized the New Mexico and Utah territories without explicitly mentioning slavery, and included the Fugitive Slave Act, which required the return of escaped slaves to their owners.
Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854: This act overturned the Missouri Compromise of 1820 and allowed the people of Kansas and Nebraska to decide for themselves whether to permit slavery. The act led to the formation of pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions in Kansas, resulting in the violent conflict known as "Bleeding Kansas."
Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857): In this landmark Supreme Court decision, the court ruled that African Americans, whether enslaved or free, were not citizens and could not sue in federal court. The ruling further inflamed tensions between the North and the South, as it denied the possibility of citizenship for African Americans and undermined efforts to limit the spread of slavery.
Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858: During the senatorial campaign in Illinois, Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas engaged in seven debates on the issue of slavery. Lincoln argued for the containment and eventual end of slavery, while Douglas defended the principle of popular sovereignty, allowing each state to decide its own position on the matter.
These attempts to reach a compromise ultimately failed, and the long-standing tensions between the North and South erupted into open conflict with the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861.