In the 1800s, why did the us government want to keep the number of free states and slave states equal? a) to prevent one region from becoming more economically unstable than another and to keep the us economy on an even keel b) to maintain a balance in congress between the number of representatives who supported slavery compared to those who opposed it c) to make it less likely that enslaved workers would attempt to escape a slave state to seek freedom in a free state d) to provide settlers in the territories the opportunity and the right to determine the issue of slavery for themselves