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Mexican-American War Dbq

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Following the Mexican-American War, the conflict of 1846 through 1848 caused by Texas gaining its independence from Mexico, opinions and actions of the American citizens and government concerning slavery drastically changed. Beginning from the wishy-washiness of the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, American ideas and values evolved - proven through the Emancipation Proclamation of 1865. Through the seventeen different presidents coming into power during the time frame of 1787 to 1865, the judgments of slavery exceptionally differed from each man in power, having a large impact on the current situation of slavery during their time in office. Following the Mexican-American war, America acquired so much new land, sprouting the debate over slavery …show more content…

In 1820, the Missouri Compromise was passed by legislation. The compromise stated that Missouri would become an official state in America, and would come in as a slave state. To balance this, Maine was admitted as a free state. The more long term effect this compromise created was the introduction of the 36-30 line. The line essentially divided the states into north and south, and those in the North would not be permitted slavery while those in the South were. This is a perfect model of how the slavery or no slavery decision went before the Mexican-American War - the government made the decision and no exceptions could legally be made by the states. However, come about thirty years later, came a change. Popular sovereignty was introduced into the vocabulary of the American government and people. The Compromise of 1850, introduced by Henry Clay, among other points, suggested that the New Mexico and Utah territories be given a choice on whether they’d like to be a free or slave state. Four years later, in 1854, the Kansas-Nebraska Act passed. This act proposed the repealing of the 36-30 line and introducing more popular sovereignty by once again giving this power of choice to the citizens of the Kansas and Nebraska territories. Though this did bring upon some problems (such as people coming from neighboring states to illegally vote on these decisions), this freedom of choice was a huge step in the legislation of slavery. Obviously, the Emancipation Proclamation and the whole abolishment of slavery in 1863 and 1865, respectively, were both huge steps in American history concerning the legal status of

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Mexican American War Dbq Essay

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