Antebellum Period

Prohibited American ships from trading with all foreign nations in an attempt to pressure Britain and France during the Napoleonic Wars. Devastated the American economy, particularly New England shipping interests.

Demonstrated the limits of economic coercion as foreign policy and fueled opposition to Jefferson's presidency.

Admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state, maintaining the balance of power in the Senate. Drew a line at 36°30' latitude, prohibiting slavery in new territories north of it.

Temporarily resolved the slavery expansion crisis but set the stage for the Civil War.

Imposed high protective tariffs on imported goods, benefiting northern manufacturers but harming southern agricultural interests. Provoked the Nullification Crisis when South Carolina attempted to void the tariff.

Sparked the first major states' rights confrontation over federal economic policy.

Authorized the President to negotiate removal treaties with Native American tribes living east of the Mississippi River. Led to the forced relocation known as the Trail of Tears, displacing tens of thousands of Native Americans.

Codified the policy of forced removal that devastated Native American nations.

Allowed squatters who had settled on federal land to purchase up to 160 acres at a minimum price before it was offered for public sale. Encouraged western settlement and land development.

Established the legal basis for settlers' land claims that preceded the Homestead Act.

A package of five bills that attempted to defuse sectional tensions. California was admitted as a free state, the slave trade was abolished in Washington, D.C., and the Fugitive Slave Act was strengthened.

Delayed the Civil War by a decade but failed to resolve the fundamental conflict over slavery.

Various territorial organization acts that set the legal backdrop for Dred Scott v. Sandford, in which the Supreme Court held that African Americans could not be citizens. The ruling declared the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional.

The legislative framework whose constitutionality was tested in the most infamous Supreme Court decision in American history.

Required that escaped slaves be returned to their owners even if they reached free states. Imposed penalties on anyone who aided fugitive slaves and denied alleged fugitives the right to a jury trial.

Inflamed sectional tensions and galvanized the abolitionist movement.

Created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska and allowed settlers to decide by popular sovereignty whether to permit slavery. Effectively repealed the Missouri Compromise line.

Triggered 'Bleeding Kansas' and accelerated the collapse of the Whig Party, leading to the rise of the Republican Party.