Although Civil War scholars continue to debate the importance of the role of slavery in the Civil War, the growing sectionalism that threatened the nation is visible at a glance in this vintage, highly partisan political map of the United States. Equally revealing are the tables of statistics for each of the states from the 1850 census, the results of the 1852 presidential election, congressional representation by state, and the number of slaves held by owners. Published during the presidential campaign of 1856, the map was an effective piece of election propaganda for the newly created Republican Party.