Question

which event made slavery a central ploitical issue in the mid 1850s

Answer 1

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Answer 2

Harriet Beecher Stowe published Uncle Tom's Cabin in 1852 which brought slavery to the masses and John Browns stand at Harpers Ferry in 1859 were two strong contenders. Be clear however, slavery was never a humanitarian issue but led purely by ecconomics. The northern industrial states were competing with paid labor against slave labor where no wages were paid.