Answer: Passing laws banning slavery in the northern states led to a more divided nation because it intensified the sectional tensions between the North and the South.
Explanation: This division arose from the stark contrast in economic systems and social structures between the two regions. The North, with its industrial economy, embraced abolitionism and saw slavery as incompatible with its values of progress and free labor. Conversely, the South heavily relied on slavery to sustain its agrarian economy, particularly in the production of cash crops like cotton. As Northern states abolished slavery, Southern states feared encroachment on their way of life and perceived it as a threat to their economic interests and social order. This growing divide over the issue of slavery ultimately contributed to the eruption of the Civil War.
