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Slavery: A World History
History of slavery in the south and north
History of slavery in the south and north
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It can be argued that the Missouri Compromise not only put off the start of the Civil War, but was also a cause. Many contributing factors led up to the Civil War in the years following the passing after the Missouri Compromise. Years after the Missouri Compromise went into effect, Congress passed the Tariff Act of 1833, sometimes called the Compromise Tariff. This was proposed by Henry Clay, and called for the gradual reduction of tariffs, ending the Nullification Crisis. In 1846, United States’ President James Polk requested 2 million dollars to purchase land from Mexico following the Mexican-American War.
The Missouri compromise was an agreement between the north and south. It allowed Missouri to be the 24th state. Maine was also established, therefore Missouri was a free state. The Mason Dixon line was established, this created a line between the slave and free states. This rule was broken, and even more conflict was contributed to the start of the civil war.
One key issue between the two parts of the country was whether or not slavery would expand westward to any newly acquired territories. This had been an issue for a long time and ultimately after failing to reach a compromise the country fell back on popular sovereignty or letting people in the new territories decide whether or not they wanted slaver. This however provided no solution as can be seen in the incident “Bleeding Kansas”. This was a series of violent acts in Kansas between those who were for and against slaver.
In the era before the Civil War America was expanding westward. The Louisiana Purchase and other lands gained help to give America new land to expand on, but this leaded to issues with the division of free and slave states. As Missouri became a state they wanted to become a slave state, which caused trouble. In order to keep equilibrium between the states, Congress came up with the Missouri Compromise of 1820.The Missouri Compromise made Missouri a slave state and Maine a free state. The Treaty also made a line within the Louisiana Territory to keep slavery from moving up the
So, this essay will explain one from the other. The Missouri Compromise has many differences from the Compromise of 1850. One difference would be that in breaking up the different parts of the Louisiana Territory, it created peace between Northerners and Southerners. The Northerners were happy that more territory was safe for freed slaves, although they weren't quite happy that there was still slavery in the USA. However, the southerners stayed happy until the Southerners realized that this gave congress a say in which states could have slavery.
Prior to the events of Bleeding Kansas that begun in 1854, the United States followed a strict policy of compromise in regards to it’s political decisions. Being a relatively newly founded country a great deal of care was given towards pleasing the citizens of the United States, through compromise, in order to maintain a stable society. This is specifically evident in the Constitutional Convention of 1787, the Missouri Compromise of 1820, and the Compromise of 1850. These events helped to maintain the stability of American society for a time. However, as the nation developed further there became apparent divides on many matters, but mainly over slavery.
The Compromise of 1850 was an attempt by the U.S Congress to settle divisive issues between the North and South, including slavery expansion, apprehension in the North of fugitive slaves, and slavery in the District of Columbia. The Compromise of 1850 failed because Senator John C. Calhoun from the South and Senator William Seward from the North could not agree on what Henry Clay was putting down. Part of the compromise was to make California a slavery free state which benefits the North, and enforcing a stricter fugitive slave law which benefits the South. Both the North and South opposed what the other was benefiting from. What sparked the failure of the Compromise was the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850.
Although in the Missouri Compromise, Missouri became a slave state and Maine became a free state, it was an example of disunity. All new states north of the Mason-Dixon Line would be free and new states southward would be slave states. As a result, there was also an unbalanced sectional population between the North and South. (Doc. E & F).
Slave Power was the term that was present in the Missouri debates of 1820s and became popular in the 1830s. Salmon P. Chase used the term to portray southern slaveholders organized politically as a clique to dominate the national government and state governments in the south, reverse the policy of founding fathers, and make slavery the ruling interest of the nation. [1] As the Slave Power grew more powerful, the Republicans severely criticized these slave owners in the south “unceasingly aggressive, insatiably greedy for still more representatives and senators, and increasingly hostile to public policies.” [2] The slaveholders dominated the federal and southern state governments and used the political leverage to foster the institution’s growth
The admission of Missouri to the Union was met with discontent because many believed it would disrupt the tranquility of having an even number of slave states and free states. The solution was raised to admit the newest northern state of Maine into the union as a free state, maintaining the balance. After this decision was made, they banned slavery in the new territories above the latitude of 36°30’. This solution was referred to as the Missouri Compromise. This may have been seen a victory because of its limitation on the spread of slavery, but the compromise also led to slavery also becoming more deep-seated in the southern way of
However, the Missouri Compromise caused some problems. The compromise equaled the concerns and interests in the North and South, but the South was upset about how Congress gave itself the power to create and pass laws dealing with slavery. Much of the North was upset because Congress let slavery spread into another state. There were people who didn’t want to compromise, and others who did, such as Henry Clay.
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
The Missouri Compromise was an effort by Congress to defuse the sectional and political rivalries triggered by the request of Missouri late in 1819 for admission as a state in which slavery would be permitted. At the time, the United States contained twenty-two states, evenly divided between slave and free. Admission of Missouri as a slave state would upset that balance; it would also set a precedent for congressional acquiescence in the expansion of slavery. In 1854, the Missouri Compromise was repealed by the Kansas-Nebraska Act.
The South did not like the Missouri Compromise, though. They did not like it due to the fact that Congress would now have the power to make or change any rules dealing with slavery if they felt that they needed to (Forbes
As the country gained new territory came new responsibility. Each new state became a new battleground for the North and South to fight for a slave or non-slave state. This problem was temporarily solved by the Missouri Compromise, stating that the amount of slave and non-slave states must remain equal at all times. The issue of slavery was one of the main causes of the Civil War. Another cause for the Civil War was the difference of opinion on the government that would control America.
