Compare And Contrast Political Compromise Between 1850 And 1860

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In the early 1800’s, and before, the United States prided itself on its ability to discuss political issues and express opinions without violence. However, around the 1850’s and 1860’s, emotions were escalating, and political compromise was thrown out the window. This was because the major political debate at the time was slavery, an issue that throughout America’s entire history was shown to create very strong opinions. Another reason for this change is that northerners and southerners were unwilling to communicate with each other in any meaningful way. Slavery was an issue for the United States since it before it even became a country, and if the Three Fifths Compromise had not been made, America may never have become independent. This shows …show more content…

Northern politician Daniel Webster was one of the last to propose peace between the two factions, stating in his 1850 speech that “I hold the separation of these states…as a moral impossibility… We could not sit down here today and draw a line of separation that would satisfy any five men in this country.” (Document D) Despite this final shot for positive relations, the north and south began to squabble pointlessly. In 1856, a political cartoon was created depicting southern politician Preston Brook striking northern politician Charles Sumner. (Document E) The caption hints that while northerners use arguments and logic, southerners resort to violence, making a generalization based on this one event. The Georgia Herald, a southern newspaper, stated that “All northern, and especially the New England, states are devoid of society…” (Document F) The entire passage is nothing but baseless slander, showing how big the rift between the north and the south was. This rift was never more evident than in 1860, when the presidential election results painted a dividing line between the northern and southern states. All but three states north of the strip of states that gave their electoral votes to the constitutional Union were in favor of Lincoln and the Republican party. Even more astoundingly, every state south of this line supported Breckinridge and the Southern Democratic