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A house divided against itself cannot stand. The United States could no longer remain half-slave and half-free, and the ensuing war over the fate of slavery ripped apart the nation.

Slavery and African Americans in Antebellum America  |  Causes of the War  |  Abraham Lincoln and the Course of the War  |  The Art and Literature of the Civil War  |  Reconstruction and After in Art and Culture  |  Related EDSITEment Websites

US History Fellow Kim Kutz explains how slavery was an issue at the birth of the United States and how the issue became more and more central as the country expanded.

Kim and Sal talk about increased tensions between slave and free states as new territory is added after Mexican-American War and from Compromise of 1850 (especially the Fugitive Slave Act).

The Spread of Cotton and of Slavery 1790-1860

Compare North and South states on interactive maps to identify the differences between free and slave populations before the Civil War. Also includes discussion questions.