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To What Extent Was The Tension Between The North And South In The Late 1800s

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At the start of the 19th century the United States was beginning to grow in size and by the 1850’s the nation had tripled. Many factors accounted for this great wave of expansion, upon the most important were the hopes and aspirations of many white American men moving westward and acquiring new territories. Initially the plan to move westward seemed to boost national unity, but the advancement and industrialization of the north seemed to leave the south at a disadvantage, and the issue of slavery between states rose, ultimately creating extreme sectionalism between the north and south, forcing the nation into the Civil War. In the early 1800’s The Louisiana Purchase and the treaty of 1818 seemed to help boost National unity. The Louisiana …show more content…

The gold rush in California became another factor putting pressure on the United States to resolve the status of territories and slavery within them. When new territories were brought up about joining the United States, slavery became a hot topic of debate within congress. To add the new states as slave states the balance between slave and free states would be unbalanced, either the north or south would be upset. An example of the tension between the north and South was the Wilmot Proviso that was introduced to Congress. It passed in the House, but not the Senate and stated that all new territory in Mexico would be free. Clearly, many were against this idea, and when Zachary Taylor took over he felt that if the new territories reached statehood, then the slavery issue would somehow be resolved. Popular Sovereignty and letting states choose for themselves on whether or not they wanted to enter as free or slave states left the south at a huge disadvantage. Considering that also Washing D.C opposed slavery and the south was outnumbered in congress, the south would be greatly outnumbered causing sectionalism between the north. Because of the rising tension between the north and south, Henry Clay composed The Compromise of 1850 which would allow California to be entered as a free state which tipped the the balance of free and slave states. While his compromise

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