Throughout American history, there have been many times where reform movements have sought to expand democracy and end slavery. The period from 1820 to 1850 was a time where some of the most important and diversified events in American history occurred. The main goal of this era was to make society a better place for everyone. During this time, citizens began to fight and influence the abolition of slavery and the idea of democracy began to expand. In the 1800s, slavery was a topic of heated debate in Congress among the North and South slave states. Slavery was very debatable for the South because the economy depended on the use of slaves to produce a profit for their white owners. During the 1800s, people were already begin to step up to defend what they …show more content…
Prior to the 1820s and 1830s democracy in America was slow going and hard to define. During this time the Democratic-Republican Society of Pennsylvania spread. This society wanted the right to criticize the government and to demand explanation for public acts. The Democratic-Republican society insisted that, “freedom of opinion” was the “bulwark of liberty,” a natural right that no government could restrict (Foner 143). “If freedom of opinion, in the sense we understand it, is the right of every citizen, by what mode of reasoning can that right be denied to an assemblage of Citizens? (Foner 144). In this quote stated by the Democratic-Republican Society of Pennsylvania says that freedom of opinion should not be denied to citizens. Public opinion is important in a democracy because the people are the ultimate source of power. Therefore, any governmental official has to take public opinion into account, but it does not mean that they always do what people want. The Democratic-Republican Society of Pennsylvania fighted for the right to criticize and give one 's opinion of the government; freedom of speech and expression is the cornerstone of
However, in the 18th and 19th centuries there was a great deal of arguing and talk about freeing slaves between the Northern and Southern states, which the North really did not have a problem with freeing the slaves since they were leaning more toward the liberating lifestyle for all American people. The South was in between abolishing slavery. There were stereotyping going around the states about slaves.
In a pure democracy, the power lies in the people as well, but is exercised directly by the citizens rather than by their elected representatives. After breaking free from British rule, America’s founders sought to stray away from government that did not value the voices of the people it governed. When working towards creating a new government, the founder’s beliefs were rooted in “republicanism,
During the “Age of Jackson” in the 1820’s, the argument over whether or not to expand American suffrage was a conflicting one. Those who opposed the expansion of suffrage argued that it was a “dangerous expansion of democracy”, while those who favored the expansion believed it to be morally correct and helpful to the democratic system. Those who favored the expansion of American suffrage believed it to be a natural right that should be utilized by able white men. This expansion of suffrage was believed to lead to a stronger and healthier American democracy.
The American government was founded by democratic principles in order to serve the will of the people. Thus the people and their opinion are the basis of American government. Political scientist V. O. Key Jr. stated that public opinion must not only exist, but it must be heard by policy decisions (Yolaf, 266). Public opinion has the power to justify president’s policies, for interest groups to promote their causes, and for journalists to describe public preferences. One popular way to show public opinion is through voting.
Something that is shocking is that the Christian community in the south turned their heads when it came to slavery. But much of the economy needed slave plantations for their cotton production so they often overlooked slavery problems once again. Although many were still fighting using the Missouri compromise to keep slavery in the states even though many free states opposed it. Southern states argued that slaves lacked that what they needed to be free, all while fighting states to come in as free states because of the compromise of 1850 and to keep their balance in congress, and to take slaves were ever they wanted. With all these laws in place it made it hard for slaves to revolt or run against their
The idea of abolishment started within the chugs in the 1830. The purpose of abolishment was to liberate all slaves and the end of racial prejudice in hope to stop the spreading of slavery further west. Abolishment would bring equality to all from African slaves to Indian slave trade. Abraham Lincoln was the voice of the abolishment movement he detested the idea of slavery and felt that these actions would bring hypocrisy to the nation, since it was base on equality and liberty. The issue of abolishment along with the Dread Scott decision would lead up to the Civil War.
Some owners came together and believed slaves were treated well and there is no rivalry or competition for employment of slaves and other free laborers. This opinion or belief spread across much of the continental United States and caused many individuals to jump on their side and share some of the same values and beliefs. Many of these slave owners believed that after president Lincoln implemented the Emancipation Proclamation or freeing of slaves should be a gradual process and all the slaves should not be released at once in case of a large rebellion or there was some work or jobs that still needed to be completed. As slavery started to diminish some elected officials and leaders still believed preserving the Union should be the primary war aim which is what caused the Civil War, but in all reality we know the actual events that had occurred and taken place. The people who believed slaves were treated fair and equal were obviously oblivious to the fact of how society was treating these poor African Americans and that could start to raise questions about the mental state of these people and how they value the life of other individuals
In the early 1800’s many homeowners had slaves to do work for them. Slaves were treated terribly, had little to eat and had no rights to protect them. When the United States was established the Union split into two sides, pro-slavery and non-slavery states. The South was filled with slave owners and the North was filled with people who wanted to abolish it for good. After this the Union was highly motivated to end it, but there were many in the United States who wanted to increase it and some wanted to abolish it.
At the beginning of the nineteenth century, American society began to focus on the welfare of minority groups. Women’s suffrage and abolition were rooted as deeply as the history of America, but asylum and prison reform sprouted with the Second Great Awakening, a movement that occurred in the early 1800s. The Second Great Awakening was led by religious leaders who advocated for changes in American society through the unity of the American people (Doc. Due to the Second Great Awakening, reform movements were established between 1825 and 1850 in order to represent the changes the people sought for in the issues of slavery, suffrage, and asylum and prison reform. The social aspect of the abolition movement led to the visible democratic changes in society and politics.
Slavery itself is the complete antithesis of any form of democratic ideals. The institution itself goes against everything that democracy pledges to include, such as equal rights and representation, hence why the Abolitionist Movement was one that fought to secure those ideals, and successfully so, with the ratification of the 13th Amendment. Although the United States had to fight a bloody Civil War to get there, the Abolitionist Movement brought about the end of slavery, a magnificent leap forward in democratic ideals. The second civil rights issue was that of women’s rights. The Suffrage Movement and the fight for gender equality took a head in the 1840s, with female activists from Elizabeth Cady Stanton to Sojourner Truth beginning to speak out against the civil disparities that existed between males and females.
The aftermath of the Civil War caused drastic transformations among the American people between the years 1860 and 1880. Of these changes rose the issues of political and social relations within the nation. The issues of political and social relationships arose among several different groups of people, causing these relationships to drastically change. Through the transformations of public liberty, right of succession, and slavery, the Civil War and it's inevitable aftermath was able to alter the political and social relationships that had been instilled in the fabric of America before the times of 1860.
For thousands of years, humans have had some sort of government to maintain order. There are many different types of government; including but not limited to: democracy, monarchy, and dictatorship. In America, democracy has been used since its forming into what we know today. The American people had wanted a chivalrous, fair government. This want, combined with their fierce and indomitable urge to be free to do what they wanted quickly shaped early America.
Slavery was a major part of the american way of life, but there were many causes of the resistance to it. Even though many states in the United States opposed and are resisting the act of slavery, many events had a big impact on the ending of slavery. The second great awakening, industrial revolution, and abolishment movement are underlying forces of growing opposition to slavery in the United States from 1776 to 1852. The opposition and abolishment of slavery changed american history.
In the 1840’s there was a wave of democratization created after Jackson’s presidency. It was created the value of the common man, and the importance of every person who was in the government. Of course, there were exceptions to this rule as there still certain groups like blacks or women that were viewed as inferior, but the majority of the population felt like they had worth. This led to series of reforms: hospitals for the mentally ill, schools for people with physical disabilities, the temperance movement, and labor unions. This movements fought a better society with better treatment even though there would be no economic incentives to do so.
The spirit of a democracy is meant to invoke the public to form their own government, where everyone has their say. When even the ignorant have a say is this country's politics, mistakes can be made. In America, the rules we have to follow as a democracy is the constitution’s amendments. The constitution is America’s backbone, it was written so that America had fundamental