ap history frq

Thesis: The political actions of the anti-slavery movement were designed to "choke" slavery into extinction, rather than moving to end the practice in one fell swoop.

Missouri compromise: Unable to stop the spread of slavery altogether, abolitionists at least were able to restrict its spread.

Mexican War: A setback for the anti-slavery forces, as slavery was permitted in the newly absorbed territories, which lay below the line set in the Missouri Compromise. This helped galvanize both sides, beginning a process that would make war inevitable.

Compromise of 1850. An attempt to deal with some of the slavery related issues brought up by the end of the Mexican Wars. The classic example of why some compromises don't work, these acts satisfied no one, and angered just about everyone. A free California, a slave holding Texas, and the requirement that escaped slaves had to be returned all helped "keep the peace" as people waited to see if the Compromise would solve things. It didn't of course.
Kansas Nebraska Act. Essentially repealed the Missouri Compromise, opening up the slavery issue to popular vote. The result of this was widespread efforts to affect the vote by fraud and/or violence. After this, there was little chance that anything short of war would stop the institution of slavery.

With the K/N Act, the abolitionist strategy of choking off slavery was a failure, and the anti-slavery forces would become increasingly vocal and rigid in their defiance of that institution.
Setting: In the 1850s and 1860s, the national discussion was dominated by controversy over slavery.
Basis for Analysis: While the abolitionists viewed slavery as intolerable evil, other anti-slavery politicians tried to compromise with the Southerners in order to keep the nation united.
Partitions: The anti-slavery activists tried to solve the problem through "moral persuasion", through laws to contain the spread of slavery, or even through the idea of popular sovereignty to avoid any direct conflict with the Southerners.
Thesis:Ultimately, the issue of slavery could not be resolved through moral argument, political actions, or even the idea of popular sovereignty because while the abolitionists faced backlash trying to solve the problem of slavery socially,the anti-slavery politicians, out of consideration for the nation's future, could not contain the spread of slavery politically..
3-4 pieces of evidence
Define the most significant events, controversies, agreements
Specific details, concisely stated

Partition 1: Frustration with the abolitionists
Moral Persuasion
Rather than trying to use political influences to solve the issue, the abolitionists tries to argue that the institution of slavery is morally unacceptable.
- Uncle Tom's Cabin, written by Harriet Beecher Stowe: The book depicted the fate of runaway slaves in heart-wrenching language. It is an example that shows the significance of "moral-persuasion" through appealing to emotion.
-William Lloyd Garrison, the founder of American Anti-Slavery Society, refused to run candidate for presidential election because he regarded US Constitution as a slave-supporting one.

Backlash because of racism:
Despite the abolitionists' effort to argue that slavery is moral wrong, racism still persisted and caused a backlash on their effort.
-"Dread Scott Case"(1857): Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger Taney claimed that slaves had "no rights which a white man was bound to respect." It shows that racism was still a important factor that caused a backlash on the abolitionists' effort.

Partition 2: Political compromises over the issue of slavery
The unity of the nation
Although many anti-slavery politicians were unwilling to see slavery spreading into other regions, they had to compromise politically in order to prevent the nation from falling apart.
- Missouri Compromise: Missouri entered as slave state while Maine entered as free state. In addition, the 36' 30 North latitude was ruled to be the dividing line between slave state and free state. It shows that even the anti-slavery politicians were trying to find a balance of power between the slave states and the free states, fearing that the issue of slavery would tear the nation apart.
-The Mexican War: The Treaty of Guadalupe- Hidalgo gave California, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, and parts of Colorado to US. With new expansion, the balance between slave state and free state caused new conflict in Congress, which resulted in the Compromise of 1850.
-Compromise of 1850: Webster claimed "I speak not as a Massachusetts man but as an American" to urge support for the Compromise of 1850 to save the nation. This compromise intentionally leave out the issue of slavery in the territories of New Mexico and Utah, giving both sided an acceptable outcome.

Partition 3: Popular Sovereignty
In an attempt to please both sides, Stephen Douglass proposed the idea of Popular Sovereignty to let the people decide on the issue of slavery.
- The Kansas-Nebraska Act: The Bill stated "All question pertaining to slavery in the Territories... are to be left to the people residing therein". Contrary to the abolitionists' beliefs, Stephen Douglass believed that the issue should be decided by the people in the region.
However, this also leads to conflict in the region.
- Bleeding Kansas: Abolitionist John Brown led a small group to murder five Pro-slavery farmers. Both sides engaged in acts of violence, which resulted in 200 deaths in the next few years.