Question

55
a. briefly expla ng options most clearly marks the beginning of the sectional crisis that led civil war.

• northwest ce (1787)
• missouri compromise (1820)
• acquisition of mexican territory (1848)

b. provide an example of an event or development to support your explanation.
c. briefly explain why one of the other options is not useful to mark the beginning of the sectional crisis.

Explanation:

Part A

The Missouri Compromise (1820) is the best choice. It was the first major legislative attempt to address the expansion of slavery, creating a boundary (36°30′ parallel) for slave states, which highlighted sectional tensions between North (free) and South (slave) over slavery's expansion, starting the crisis leading to the Civil War.

Part B

An example to support this is the Tallmadge Amendment debate during the Missouri Compromise. When Missouri applied for statehood, Rep. Tallmadge proposed amending its constitution to gradually abolish slavery. This sparked intense North - South debate: the North saw it as a way to limit slavery's spread, while the South viewed it as an attack on their "property" (slaves) and states' rights. This debate revealed the deep - seated sectional differences over slavery's expansion, showing the Missouri Compromise began the crisis.

Part C

The Northwest Ordinance (1787) is not useful. It mainly focused on organizing the Northwest Territory, with a ban on slavery in that area. But at that time, the national debate over slavery's expansion into new territories wasn't as intense as during the Missouri Compromise. It was more about territorial governance and creating new states (like Ohio, Indiana) with a free - soil policy, not the sectional North - South conflict over slavery's expansion that defined the lead - up to the Civil War. The Missouri Compromise was the first to pit the two sections directly over slavery's spread into new states (Missouri and Maine's admission), so the Northwest Ordinance doesn't mark the start of the sectional crisis.

Answer:

Part A: Missouri Compromise (1820)

Part B: The Tallmadge Amendment debate during Missouri's statehood application, which revealed North - South tensions over slavery's expansion.

Part C: The Northwest Ordinance (1787) is not useful as it focused on territorial governance and free - soil in the Northwest, not the sectional North - South conflict over slavery's expansion that began with the Missouri Compromise.