Push And Pull Of The Union In The 1800s

Push and Pull of the Union In the 1800s, the Union was split on many issues. One of the foremost of these issues was the allowance of slavery. There were many events that kept the Union together and tore it apart, from the Missouri Compromise and the Compromise of 1850 to the Kansas-Nebraska Act and Lincoln’s election. One of the most crucial events that kept the Union together was the creation of the Missouri Compromise. According to McNamara, “The Missouri Compromise was the first of the major compromises of the 19th century intended to ease regional tensions over the issue of slavery… accomplished it immediate goal.” In the 1800s, the issues of slavery divided the nation. The North wanted no part of a nation that undertook in slavery because

This act allowed for the joining of Kansas and Nebraska to the Union, as well as letting them choose whether they would support slavery or not. One of the effects of this compromise was that it dissolved the Missouri Compromise. Because Kansas, which became a slave state, was North of the Missouri Compromise Line it broke apart the Missouri Compromise, which had kept the Union together for a few years. Also, the Act led to a civil war between pro and anti slavery people in Kansas. When Kansas was still undecided on the issue of slavery, Missouri hoped for it to become a slave state. Soon after, Missouri sent 1,700 men to Kansas to vote for a pro-slavery representative. These men were called Border Ruffians, and they threatened to shoot, burn, and hang those who were opposed to slavery. When it came time to vote for a territorial legislator, almost 5,000 men from Missouri came to elect a pro-slavery legislature. Even though the majority of the legal voters in Kansas were anti-slavery, they were outvoted by the fraudulent Missourians. This legislature soon created a harsh slave code, which angered both the North and many residents of Kansas. Soon after, some people from Kansas drew up their own constitution and organized their own government, which the North supported. Later, 800 men from Kansas and Missouri rode to the antislavery stronghold in Lawrence

Lincoln was against slavery, and he “argued against the spread of slavery” (history.org). When he ran for president, the Southerners were afraid that he would attempt to end slavery, and they did not even include him on the ballot. Also, they stated that they would secede from the nation if Lincoln became president. When Lincoln was elected, “...seven states had seceded, and the Confederate States of America had been formally established…” (history.org). Lincoln’s election was the breaking point of tensions between the North and South, and when he was elected the outcome was the secession of the South. One month after the secession, the Civil War was started. President Lincoln’s election tore apart the nation because the South left the Union as a direct result of his election. It was one of the main causes of the Civil War, and also physically split the Nation into two