In 1804 the United States takes formal possession of what is now Missouri. In 1820 After fierce debate, Congress admits Missouri as a slave state. The question of Missouri statehood sparks widespread disagreement over the expansion of slavery. The resolution, eventually known as the Missouri Compromise which allowed Missouri to enter the union as a slave state along with the entrance of the free state of Maine, preserving a balance in the number of free and slave states. The Compromise also dictates that no territories above the 36o 30' latitude can enter the union as slave states. The neighboring state to Missouri, Illinois had entered the union as a free state in 1819, while in subsequent years Congress admits Arkansas as a slave state and Iowa as a free state.
             In Slave states and free states, which had previously respected one another's laws on slavery, become increasingly hesitant to enforce those laws as the argument over the expansion of slavery becomes increasingly heated. Shareholders express a particular opposition to legal precedents that permit slaves to demand their own freedom after being transported to places (whether other states or foreign countries) that prohibit slavery. At this time the issue of slavery was a major concern. The Mexican War provided the United States with a lot of new territory, and the question of the future of slavery in the territories was on everyones mind. The people of the North who were against slavery and wanted and Congress prohibited slavery in the territories.
             Southern support of slavery and Northern opposition to it in the 1850's was a very heated topic. The case of Dred Scott added violent fuel to this issue. Dred Scott, a black slave from Missouri who claimed his freedom on the basis of being resident in a free state and a free territory for seven years. The Supreme Court of the United States which was pro-slavery heard Scott's case and declared he was still ...