Throughout the 1850's, the United States was in a constant status of tension. The economies of the northern and southern states were very different. The northern states depended on manufacturing, while the south had an economy that many focused on agriculture with repetitive labor. Slavery helped increased the output of southern enterprises while maintaining a low cost for plantation owners.

     While the slaves were a boost to business, many questioned the morals and ethics of those who used them on their plantations. Northerners began to alienate themselves from the south, and south did the same to the north.
As new states entered the Union, the north and the south began to debate whether or not these new states should allow slavery, and whether or not southern slave owners can bring their slaves into the new states and still have ownership of them.