Here are the key events and issues related to slavery during this time:
1. Missouri Compromise (1820): This compromise admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state. It also established the 36°30' parallel as the boundary between slave and free territories in the Louisiana Territory.
2. Nullification Crisis (1832): South Carolina threatened to secede from the Union over federal tariffs, arguing that states had the right to nullify federal laws they considered unconstitutional. The crisis was resolved with a compromise that reduced tariffs and asserted the federal government's authority.
3. Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857): The Supreme Court ruled that enslaved people were not citizens and could not sue in federal court. The ruling intensified tensions between the North and the South.
4. John Brown's Raid (1859): Abolitionist John Brown led an armed raid on a federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia, with the goal of inciting a slave rebellion. The raid failed, but it further escalated tensions between the North and the South.
5. Election of Abraham Lincoln (1860): The victory of Abraham Lincoln, who opposed the expansion of slavery, in the 1860 presidential election was seen as a direct threat to the institution of slavery in the South, ultimately leading to the secession of several Southern states and the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861.
Throughout this period, the issue of slavery dominated American politics and society. The growing power of the free states and the increasing demand for the abolition of slavery led to conflict with the slave states, which feared their political and economic power would be diminished. The inability to resolve these issues through political compromise ultimately resulted in the outbreak of the Civil War, which settled the question of slavery in favor of abolition and led to the freeing of millions of enslaved individuals.