Political Compromises Leading Up To The Civil War

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The Civil War was America’s most devastating conflict in terms of casualties and property destroyed. The war started after the southern states seceded from the Union and southern troops fired on a Union fort in Charleston harbor. Prior to the war there had been lots of tension between the northern and the southern states over the issue of slavery.
The dissolution of the United States prior to the Civil War was the result of southern opposition to growing anti-slavery sentiments in the north, dissatisfaction with political compromises especially those relating to slavery in western states, and general concerns about the future of a post slavery southern economy. The south had always had stronger pro-slavery sentiments than the north because slavery was much more important for the …show more content…

These compromises were very unpopular, especially in the south where pro-slavery politicians felt that their states were on the loosing end of these compromises. The first of these compromises was the Missouri Compromise which allowed Missouri to be admitted as a slave state while Maine was admitted as a free state. This compromise set a precedent that continued to be followed in which the number of new free states and new slave states was balanced. This compromise ensured that power in the senate would be balanced between free and slave states and would prevent either side from gaining the upper hand in the legislature. While this was a good idea in practice it created political gridlock and the compromise was effectively repealed in 1854 by the Kansas-Nebraska act which was the catalyst for the armed conflict fought over slavery known as Bleeding Kansas. Bleeding Kansas would be a precursor to the civil war. While compromises like the Missouri Compromise were able to delay the civil war they would be unable to prevent

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