Put bluntly, strength was what gave one confidence. No matter how eloquent Lincoln was, he could not reverse the northern United States' decline at this point.
The same held true when it came time to divide the cake. Kansas's land was not given as compensation to the Yankees who had lost the four northern states; instead, it was allotted to Old Dixie.
Yankees (referring to the northern United States), Old Dixie (referring to the American South).
The United States Federal Government's hard-line stance naturally stirred resentment among the local residents, but this time the suppression was far harsher than before.
The US Army, freshly withdrawn from the front, utterly crushed Kansas's abolitionists in a one-sided victory.
Coupled with the earlier bloody clashes, the US Army showed no restraint this time. After the bloody slaughter, nothing remained but devastation strewn across the ground.
The war with the British Army had greatly improved the US Army's military discipline and capabilities, but it had also left them with a fiercer killing intent than ever before.
Even so, Oregon, as the United States' only outlet onto the Pacific Ocean at the time, held extraordinary significance. Its potential and influence far surpassed those of Kansas.
Despite that, the American South had little interest in Oregon, because its main trading partner was Europe, not the Qing Empire.
On the other hand, politicians in the American South did not want the conflict between North and South to keep escalating. Unless driven to the wall, they still wanted to keep this little family together.
Oregon also had to bear the military responsibility of confronting Britain and Austria on the border, and the American South had no desire whatsoever to keep company with those two powerful enemies.
Yet this division of interests between North and South was merely the