Final answer:
In early mid-19th-century America, the Missouri Compromise, Compromise of 1850, Kansas-Nebraska Act, and Dred Scott Decision were significant events focused on the status and expansion of slavery, which exacerbated sectional divisions leading to the American Civil War.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Missouri Compromise of 1820 was a major turning point in the history of American slavery, admitting Missouri as a slave state, Maine as a free state and banning slavery north of the 36°30′ line. This divisive issue played out again with the Compromise of 1850, which sought to settle the status of slavery in territories, causing rancor and giving rise to the Fugitive Slave Act. The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 opened these territories to possible slavery based on popular sovereignty, superseding the Missouri Compromise, and sparking violent conflict. Finally, the Dred Scott Decision in 1856 ruled that the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional and that enslaved people were property, not citizens, further fuelling the civil war.
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