Sectional tension in the 1850s

In the 1850s, the long-brewing tensions over slavery began to tear the United States apart.

The Mexican-American War

Abolition, slavery, and the Compromise of 1850

Uncle Tom's Cabin - influence of the Fugitive Slave Act

Uncle Tom's Cabin - reception and significance

Uncle Tom's Cabin - plot and analysis

Manifest Destiny: causes and effects of westward expansion

Sectional conflict: Regional differences

Dred Scott v. Sandford

The eve of the Civil War