What Was The Reason For Territorial Disputes Between 1820 And 1860

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Territorial disputes have been the reason behind many wars and conflicts. As the amount of people increase and land’s value becomes greater, greed becomes stronger. This greed has the potential to overwhelm some people and transform them into what most may consider monsters. Before 1861, a time of blatant racism and divided thoughts, there was the United States that functioned as if it were two completely different countries. The Confederacy, better known as the south wanted more land and sought out to run their land the way they intended it to be, using slaves to cover the majority of laborious work; however, the Union had other plans. In 1820, the Union and the Confederacy tried to come to terms by creating the Missouri Compromise; even after …show more content…

When Missouri applied to be part of the states, many northerners were panicked because it was a pro-slavery territory and they felt that slave states had too much power already. In 1820, however, Henry Clay of Kentucky announced that if Maine were to be a free state then Missouri should be allowed to be a state too. From this came the notion that states be admitted in pairs, one slave and one free. It was also said that no slavery was allowed above the 36 30 latitude line. Despite the fact that the Missouri Compromise had taken place, slavery was still creeping into the north guised under the legal matter of “indentured servitude.”1 While the south does have a reputation for being unruly, they were not the only ones to break the rules and pass it off as legal. 30 years after the Missouri Compromise, California became a free state. This upset the balance of 12 free and 12 slave holding states.In order to compensate for the Union reciveing a feee nd the south getting no land, the Confederacy recieved what, essentially, they already had. The Fugitive Slave Act was put into effect on September 18, 1850. Section 6 of the act …show more content…

The Confederacy had many considerable reasons as to why slaves were actually beneficial, not only to them but to all of the United States. They claim to be more productive with slaves and prove that the economy is boosted significantly with slaves compared to an economy without the use of slaves. The slaves are also able to produce a remarkable amount of cotton that is sold to the north which is mutually beneficial to both parties. The Union’s argument explains that while cotton is very valuable, the south’s method of producing it is unacceptable. They believe that owning slaves is wrong because African Americans are people too, and no human being should be forced to go through the everyday struggle that these people had to endure. While the Union’s argument may have been the side that most people would agree with, they were not right in their actions. John Brown, an abolitionist, hated slavery and his fury boiled over into intense violence. After the Sacking of Lawrence, when the south attacked a northern hotel, John Brown retaliated with the Pottawatomie Creek Massacre where he murdered five pro-slavery advocates. Brown later invaded the south and started arming slaves with weaponry to revolt against their owners. In the end, the slaves were re-captured and Brown was