Missouri Compromise: This was an agreement reached in 1820 that temporarily resolved the issue of slavery in new territories by admitting Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state, while also drawing a line (36°30' parallel) across the Louisiana Territory where slavery would be prohibited north of it.
Compromise of 1850: A set of laws passed in 1850 that aimed to resolve sectional tensions by admitting California as a free state, allowing popular sovereignty for Utah and New Mexico territories regarding slavery, strengthening fugitive slave laws, and abolishing slave trade in Washington D.C.
Dred Scott Decision: The Supreme Court ruling in 1857 that declared enslaved individuals were property and not citizens, denying them rights even if they lived in free states or territories. This decision further intensified sectional tensions between North and South.