The 1800s Were A Tumultuous Time for the US The 1800's were a tumultuous time for the United States of America. At that time the south was typically slave and the northerners were traditionally for freedom. The slave states of the south and the abolitionist in the north were quarreling and the government recognizing that made efforts to stop or delay the civil war. In 1819 Missouri wanted to enter the Union a slave state. At this time the 22 states of the Union were divided evenly 11 slave and 11 free. Northern states were afraid that if Missouri entered as a slave state it would