Final answer:
The 3/5 Compromise and the westward expansion after the Mexican-American War intensified debates over slavery in new territories, exacerbating sectional tensions. These led to various legislative efforts such as the Missouri Compromise, Compromise of 1850, and the Kansas-Nebraska Act aimed at quelling the discord, although often they achieved the opposite effects.
Step-by-step explanation:
To what extent did the 3/5 Compromise and westward expansion cause the tension that led to the need for the Missouri Compromise, Compromise of 1850, and the Kansas-Nebraska Act? The tension over the extension of slavery into new territories and states was a central factor leading to these compromises.
The 3/5 Compromise, which counted slaves as three-fifths of a person for congressional representation, initially addressed the power balance between free and slave states.
However, as the nation expanded westward, the question of whether new territories would permit slavery exacerbated sectional tensions.
Westward expansion, especially after the Mexican-American War and the subsequent acquisition of new territories, raised the contentious issue of whether to extend slavery into these regions.
Efforts in Congress to reach a compromise fell back on popular sovereignty, allowing the new territories south of the Missouri Compromise line to decide on slavery.
However, this failed to solve the issue and only further inflamed sectional conflict, contributing to the violence in 'Bleeding Kansas.'
These events eventually led to the collapse of the second party system and the birth of the Republican Party, marking a significant escalation in the national debate over slavery.