Compromise of 1850: A set of laws passed by Congress in an attempt to maintain a balance between free states and slave states, which included provisions strengthening fugitive slave laws.
Kansas-Nebraska Act: An act passed in 1854 that allowed settlers in Kansas and Nebraska territories to decide whether or not they would allow slavery within their borders, leading to violent conflicts known as 'Bleeding Kansas.'
Dred Scott Decision: A Supreme Court decision in 1857 that declared enslaved Africans or African Americans were not U.S. citizens and therefore had no rights, effectively strengthening the power of slaveholders.