Final answer:
Key events such as the Missouri Compromise, Fugitive Slave Act, Kansas-Nebraska Act, and the Dred Scott decision deepened sectional tensions between the North and South through disagreements over the spread of slavery and the rights of African Americans.
Step-by-step explanation:
Political Events and Laws Causing Disagreements Between the North and South
The Missouri Compromise, the Fugitive Slave Act, the Kansas-Nebraska Act, and the Dred Scott v. Sandford decision were key events and laws that exacerbated tensions between the North and South leading up to the Civil War. The Missouri Compromise aimed to maintain a balance between free and slave states, but it was later disrupted by the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which allowed territories to decide on slavery through popular sovereignty. This not only nullified the Missouri Compromise line but also led to violent confrontations in what was known as 'Bleeding Kansas.' Meanwhile, the Fugitive Slave Act imposed strict penalties for aiding escaped slaves and mandated their return to slaveholders, creating moral outrage and resistance in the North. Finally, the Dred Scott decision by the Supreme Court denied citizenship to African Americans and claimed that Congress had no authority to prohibit slavery in the territories, which invalidated the Missouri Compromise and inflamed abolitionist sentiment in the North.