Civil War

Through out history many major events have been brought about by other events that weren't considered as important. One example of this is the events that led to the Civil War. These events showed a cause and effect pattern. These events included the transportation revolution, the expansion of the U.S., The Missouri Compromise, the Compromise of 1850 and finally the Civil War.

The beginning of the transportation revolution was the beginning of a very important time in the nation's history. The transportation revolution connected Northern Markets to Western farmlands. Railroads and canals, including the Erie Canal in New York State, were all a result of the revolution. By the year 1840 the U.S. had 3,000 miles of canals in use along with more miles of Railroads then any other country. The new roads and gravel allowed Americans to keep moving further and further West, causing the U.S. to expand its territory, including the state of Missouri.

When Missouri was admitted into the union, it was admitted as a slave state. Due to the increase of land in the south, there was also an increasing need for slaves to work fields. One stipulation of allowing Missouri into the union as a slave state, was as time went by they would have to lessen the amount of slaves, to keep the amount of slaves and non-slaves states equal. The northerners argued that since Missouri was located about the Northwest ordinance, it should be a free state. The also argued that the precedents showed that congress had the authority to ban slavery in new territories. Meanwhile, the South argued that the constitutional recognition and protection of slavery meant that congress didn't hold the authority to prevent the extension of slavery into the territories.

Up until about 30 years later, the number of slave and free states were equal. The south still held the majority of power within the senate, but the admission of California into the union would bring upset to the balance.