From the 1600s to the Civil War,  the U.S. grew from individual colonies to a larger, united country with a more defined constitution and government. However, the nation did face many challenges during the pre-civil war era facing massive population growth, tax raises, drastic constitutional changes, territorial struggles, as well as the tensions and law making surrounding slavery. Up till the civil war the nation stayed united through the Great Compromise which put many of the large problems surrounding slavery at bay, along with the the actual establishment of the United States of America which put the constitution in effect creating less room for major problems to surface.