The document discusses the build up to the American Civil War between slave states and free states. It outlines several key events, including the Missouri Compromise of 1819 which admitted Missouri as a slave state while also adding Maine as a free state. The Compromise of 1850 included the controversial Fugitive Slave Act, requiring citizens to help catch runaway slaves, which increased tensions. Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe criticized slavery and further divided North and South on the issue, raising the possibility of Southern states seceding from the Union and sparking civil war.
