How did westward expansion contribute to the secession of southern states, including South Carolina?
Question 1 options:
Southerners feared that the addition of free states would allow the North to gain more power in Congress.
Southerners worried that the Constitution did not allow for the addition of "slave" states to the Union.
Southerners argued that a free state should not be added without the addition of a slave state at the same time.
Southerners did not support westward expansion and argued fiercely against territorial overreach.
The correct option is: Southerners feared that the addition of free states would allow the North to gain more power in Congress.
Westward expansion threatened the balance of power between the free and slave states in the United States. As new territories were acquired and settled, the question of whether they would be admitted to the Union as free or slave states became a major source of contention. Southerners feared that the addition of more free states would tip the balance of power in Congress in favor of the anti-slavery North, potentially leading to the restriction or abolition of slavery. This fear ultimately contributed to the secession of southern states, including South Carolina.