Slavery in the territories was a major catalyst leading to
the outbreak of the Civil War. A significant event here would be the Wilmot Proviso,
which sought to prevent the extension of slavery into any territory gained from the
Mexican War. In a speech before the House, Wilmot, in supporting his resolution,
stated
God
forbid that we should be the means of planting this institution [slavery] upon
it."
Wilmot's resolution drew
a response in the form of the Calhoun Resolutions, proposed by John C. Calhoun which
stated that Congress had no right to prevent citizens from carrying lawful "property"
(meaning slaves) into the territories. The two resolutions together acutely sharpened
the sectional debate.
Political realignment can only refer
to the even division of slave and free states in the union. This necessarily meant equal
representation in the Senate. This balance threatened to be broken when Missouri
petitioned to come into the Union as a slave state. It was resolved by the Missouri
Compromise which allowed Missouri into the Union as a slave state; and Maine as a free
state, thus preserving the balance in the Senate.
The road
to disunion is a broad topic. The first instance that comes to mind is John Brown's
actions in "Bleeding Kansas" and his later attack on the federal arsenal at Harper's
Ferry in hopes of provoking a slave revolt. He failed, of course, but was vilified in
the South as a treasonous villain, and praised in the North as a hero and martyr. You
might also consider the book, Uncle Tom's Cabin. It was quite
inflammatory in nature, and factually inaccurate; yet readers in the North loved it for
its portrayal of the cruelty of slavery; while it was forbidden reading in the South;
some states even attempted to prevent its distribution by law.
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