A good look at the issues debated about the admission of new states, particularly those that would be made from the Louisiana Purchase. Read about why the issue of allowing slavery in the new states was such a hard decision for Congress....

As Missouri became a state, America was divided by slavery. This site from the Library of Congress offers a description of the events, as well as a railroad map, a painting of the Missouri Squadron, and a bust of Henry Clay, designer of...

As Missouri became a state, America was divided by slavery. This site from the Library of Congress offers a description of the events, as well as a railroad map, a painting of the Missouri Squadron, and a bust of Henry Clay, designer of...

Outline on the extension of slavery and U.S. westward expansion, touching on the development of the cotton gin, Northwest Ordinance and Missouri Compromise.

A lesson plan from the producers of the 16-episode PBS series "Freedom: A History of US" that examines the goal of the Missouri Compromise. A good lesson for comparing and contrasting life in the North and South in the run-up to the...

Presents key ideas for examining the events surrounding the Missouri Compromise.

An interactive map that clearly shows the change in the status of slavery in territories from the Missouri Compromise to the Compromise of 1850. Click on the map to see the status before and after the Compromise of 1850.

This site details the controversial issues regarding slavery and the effects they had on the Civil War amendments as well as on the fifth amendment. The site discusses events such as the Dred Scott case, the addition of the Civil War...

A map of the United States in 1821 showing the results of the Missouri Compromise of 1820 over the issue of prohibition of slavery. The map is coded to show the areas of the Free States, the Slave States, the Michigan Territory as Free...

The question of the expansion of slavery into the territories of the United States was an old question that was addressed again in the Missouri Compromise of 1820. Read about the Tallmadge Amendment and the opinions supporting and...

Toggle back and forth on this interactive map to see how the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 completely negated the Missouri Compromise. Click on the map to see where slavery was permitted before 1854 and then after. Be sure to click on the...

Read about the essential repeal of the Missouri Compromise, which had established which states could be slave and which would be free for thirty years, with the rancorous passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act. See who supported it and why,...

This is a collection of 29 Grade-Leveled texts (6-12)on the topic The Civil War. The American Civil War lasted for only 5 years but divided the country along bitter lines as the North fought to keep southern states from seceding from the...

Learn about the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Passed in 1854, it reopened the debate over the expansion of slavery in the United States.

[Free Registration/Login Required] This flipchart contains information about the renewed debate over the spread of slavery after the Mexican War. It describes the Wilmot Proviso, popular sovereignty, the Compromise of 1850, the Fugitive...

Biography of Senator Jesse Burgess Thomas, whose amendment was added to the Missouri Compromise which addressed the issue of the spread of slavery.

A map of the United States showing the effects of the Compromise of 1850. The map is keyed to show the free states and slave states, and notes California admitted to the Union as a free state; the Nebraska Territory as free by the...

A map of the United States during the period of 1850 to 1850 showing the effects of slavery, the slave trade, and the abolition movement on territorial development. The map uses colored patterns to indicate the areas and phases of...

A map of the United States during the period of 1850 to 1850 showing the effects of slavery, the slave trade, and the abolition movement on territorial development. The map uses colored patterns to indicate the areas and phases of...

A map of the United States and territories at the time of the slavery prohibition issue in 1850, after the Missouri Compromise of 1820. The map is color-coded to show the areas where slavery was prohibited by State Law, slavery was...

A map of the United States and territories showing the free areas and areas open to slavery as established by the Missouri Compromise of 1820.

This U.S. Supreme Court case dealt with the issues of slavery, citizenship, and property rights. It is detailed with an abstract providing a concise summary and a record of the justices that sat on the Court at that time.

Our Documents is home to one hundred milestone documents that influenced that course of American history and American democracy. Includes full-page scans of each document, transcriptions, background information on their significance, and...

A list with descriptions of the major events that led up to the outbreak of the Civil War.