Prompt

Analyze the ways in which controversy over the extension of slavery into the
western territories contributed to the coming of the Civil War. Confine your answer
to the period 1845-1861.

Essay
During the Mexican-American War, the US had put aside the issue of slavery
to defeat Mexico. Afterward, the slavery issue was at the forefront of all issues
leading up to the Civil War. There were several major issues involving slavery that
acted as catalysts of the explosion of war later on. The coming of the Civil War was
affected by the controversy over the extension of slavery through Californias
statehood, the Kansas-Nebraska Act, and the Freeport Doctrine.
After the Mexican-American War, the United States acquired the Territory of
California, which quickly met the requirements for statehood, however its
constitution brought a major issue. California wanted to declare themselves a free
state, which upset the slave-holding south. The south needed to keep a balance in
the senate in order to counter the North, who had a clear advantage in the House of
Representatives. South Carolina even threatened to secede over this matter, which
would have started the Civil War much earlier. This was averted through the
Compromise of 1850, which forced both sides to give concessions. This
compromised dictated that popular sovereignty be used to decide slave or free in
the Mexican Cession, a greater Fugitive Slave law was placed, slave trade abolished
in Washington D.C., California admitted as a free state, and Texas being paid to give
up claims of New Mexico. Not much later, two more states would raise this
argument once more.
The territories of Kansas and Nebraska met the requirements for statehood,
and brought a similar problem to Congress. Both states were above the Missouri
Compromise line of 36o 30 when popular sovereignty was proposed as a solution to
decide if they were slave or free. Both sides expected Kansas as a slave state and
Nebraska as a free state. The vote in Nebraska worked out fine, and Nebraska
became a free state. Kansas had a much worse issue, as abolitionists and
slaveholders flooded the territory hoping to sway the vote. This led to Bleeding
Kansas, where violence had broken out between both groups as they tried to resolve
this conflict. The result of this issue was a delay in statehood for Kansas until after
the South had broken away, when Kansas joined the Union. Meanwhile, two
politicians in Illinois were unconsciously bringing this situation even closer to the
breaking point.
Two politicians in Illinois were competing for the same seat, which led to a
series of debates known as the Lincoln-Douglass Debates. These debates were
between a Republican, Abraham Lincoln, and a Democrat, Stephen Douglass. The
turning point in these debates was reached when Lincoln asked Douglass if
Congress could legislate whether a state was slave or free despite the ruling of the

Dred Scott Decision. Stephen Douglass replied that while it could not be specifically
legislated against, Congress could legislate conditions that made it very unfavorable
for slavery in certain states. This response is important because it ignited a hatred
of Stephen Douglass in the south. This led to a split in the Democratic Party in the
election of 1860, allowing Lincoln, a minority president, to be elected. This issue
actually caused the south to secede, and therefore caused the Civil War