Preview

Civil War Began in 1787?

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
874 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Civil War Began in 1787?
Civil war began in 1787?

Though the Civil War itself did not begin in 1787, many events from that point lead up to it. Such events like the creation of the “Northwest Ordinance of 1787”. The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 was a system of government for the territory North of Ohio. In these territories slavery would be prohibited.

While in the south cotton was becoming very profitable after the invention of the cotton gin in 1793. The southern economy depended solely on cotton production. They needed cheap labor, which meant a lot of slaves. Northern economy was based more on industries rather than agriculture. The north industry would buy the raw cotton and turn into finished goods. So since the south was based on a plantation system while the north was focused on city life. This meant the north’s society evolved as people of different cultures and classed had to work together, while the south continued to hold on to an antiquated social order. This difference between the norths would cause problems in the future.

The Missouri Compromise passed in 1820 that passed a rule that prohibited slavery in states from the former Louisiana Purchase and Main. Leaving Missouri and west of it slave states. Which later on the Southern believed that slavery would be under attack and began to build arguments to protect it.

The Mexican War of 1845–1846 was fueled, in part, by the desire of the United States to annex Texas. President James Polk asked Congress in August 1846 for $2 million to help him negotiate peace and settle the boundary with Mexico. Polk sought the acquisition of Texas and other Mexican territories. Wilmot quickly offered his proposal, known as the Wilmot Proviso, which he attached to President Polk 's funding measure. The proviso would have prohibited slavery in the new territories acquired from Mexico, including California. The 1846 Wilmot Proviso was a bold attempt by opponents of slavery to prevent its introduction in the territories purchased

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Missouri Compromise was created in 1820 to put an end to the conflict between the slave and non-slave states, however, it only caused the conflict to worsen. The dispute began to get worse and worse, eventually making the sectionalism between the North and South increase. The Missouri Compromise ignited sectionalism within the United States, which further contributed to a terrible War.…

    • 398 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Near the end of the Mexican-American War, the question of whether new territories won in the war would allow slavery or not became an issue. To address this issue, Pennsylvania Congressman David Wilmot proposed the”Wilmot Proviso” (Proviso = condition of terms of agreement), which called for the banning of slavery from any land purchased from Mexico. Northerners supported the proviso, southerners hated It., and after much debate, it was voted down, but reopened the debate about slavery and exposed serious sectional divisions in the…

    • 1451 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    First, the Missouri Compromise of 1820 established the slavery line that allowed slavery below it and forbid slavery above it. It also gave the South another slave state in Missouri and the north a free state in Maine. Although each region gained a state in the Senate, the south benefited most from the acquisition because Missouri was in such a pivotal position in the country, right on the border. Later on with the Kansas-Nebraska Act in 1854, Missouri had a big role in getting Kansas to vote south because many proslavery Missourians crossed the border into Kansas to vote slavery. The Missouri Compromise also helped slavery because the line that was formed to limit slavery had more land below the line than above it. Therefore, slavery was given more land to be slave and therefore more power in the Senate, when the territories became state. In effect, the north got the short end of the stick and the south was given the first hint of being able to push around the north. The interesting thing is, the north agreed to all these provisions that would clearly benefit the south.…

    • 1295 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The Missouri Compromise reflected regional differences toward slavery in that the North and South had opposite opinions about the issue. The North was against using slaves while the South was for it. The 36-30 latitude line essentially divided the country between North and South, as the area above the line prohibited slavery, which they were fine with anyways as the North didn’t use and was against using slaves. The area below the line and Missouri were allowed to use slaves, which made sense as the area below the line was the South, who actually used the slaves and didn’t want to end the use of the slave system. This 36-30 latitude line was a physical reflection of the differing viewpoints on slavery between the North and the South, as it reflected the ideals of the North and…

    • 2099 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    While there had already been tension building between the North and the South, the addition of new territory added new fuel to the fire. If the new states that emerged from the Louisiana Territory were all free, then the balance of power in the U.S. Senate would tilt decisively against slavery or vice versa . From the moment that the expansion of the United States emerged, there was conflict. Eventually after many years of debate the Missouri Compromise came to be in 1820. The Missouri Compromise was devised by Henry Clay . It was an attempt to defuse the tension causes by the addition of the Louisiana Purchase. It gave the pre-slavers the decisive state they needed to hold their position in congress. After much debate was had about which states would be free or slave states with the addition of the Louisiana Purchase, a compromise was worked out. To appease both sides Missouri would be admitted as a slave state and Maine (which used to be apart Massachusetts) would have the status of a free state, and minus Missouri, slavery was to be excluded at a certain latitude . With the Missouri Compromise; all states south of Missouri would be slave states and all states north of it would be free. The addition of Missouri as a slave state just ignited the already hot debate about the legitimacy of slavery. While the Louisiana Purchase would eventually help to…

    • 1319 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    There was a lower number of salves in the North since the Northern States outlawed slavery. In result, the North relied on the Southern’s cotton production to made money. Cotton shipment overseas made Northern businesses rich, Northern bankers financed land for plantations, Northern insurance companies made profit by insuring slaves since they were considered property; therefore, very valuable. The effect of slavery overtook the South economically and culturally.…

    • 547 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Era of Good Feelings Dbq

    • 517 Words
    • 3 Pages

    When Missouri applied to become part of the union, they insisted on being a slave state. This upset the north due to their interest in a balance of power. The Missouri Compromise was enacted with the help of Henry Clay in order to come to a conclusion to the political arguments between the North and South. It stated that in order for Missouri to be accepted as a slave state, Maine would come into the union as a free state. Also, slavery wasn’t to be permitted north of latitude 36˚ 30’. The long retired Thomas Jefferson expressed his alarm to the happenings in American government by comparing the sectional disunity to a “fire bell in the night [that] awaked and filled me with terror.” (Document G) John Quincy Adams also stated that “If the union must be dissolved, slavery is precisely the question upon which it ought to break.” (Document F) By simply drawing a line to determine boundaries of slavery, it was inevitable that neither side would be completely satisfied in the long run.…

    • 517 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Why Did The Civil War Happen? Bang! Why did the Civil War start? The main reason of the Civil War was John Brown,Bleeding Kansas and Abraham Lincoln they all have a lot to do with the Civil War and how it started.…

    • 488 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Missouri Compromise

    • 507 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Missouri Compromise was passed in 1820 between the pro-slavery and anti-slavery state representatives. The compromise involved the regulation of slavery in the western territories. It prohibited slavery north of the parallel 36°30′ north except within the boundaries of the proposed state boundaries of the Missouri territory. In return for Missouri being a freed state, Maine was allowed to become a state separate from Massachusetts. The Events that led up to the compromise are not nearly as important as what the compromise represented; a deep rooted division of doctrine.…

    • 507 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    James Knox Polk Dbq

    • 2332 Words
    • 10 Pages

    This created a hot debate over the war itself and the spread of slavery. In 1846 a congressman introduced an amendment to a spending bill, Wilmot Proviso. The bill asserted that slavery wouldn’t be allowed to exist in the territory acquired from Mexico (Dusinberre 148). Polk found the entire bill to be “foolish and mischievous”, believing that there was no connection between peace with Mexico and slavery (Nevins 138). Polk claimed to have no interest in extending slavery but it was noted that he was an avid slave owner and many even considered racist. He even bought and sold slaves while in the White House and took measures to keep it a secret (Nevins…

    • 2332 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    During the Revolutionary Era from 1765-1815, slavery existed in thirteen colonies. Maryland went from white servants to slaves. There was an agricultural economy that existed in the South that was dependent on the labor of slaves. Although slavery did not exist in the North exclusively; New York, Philadelphia, and New England were involved in the trade of slaves; so although the South was exclusively using slaves as an economic gain, the North also had financial benefits as a result of the existence of slavery. In the aftermath of the Revolution, slavery began to cease in the North. In Massachusetts they ruled slavery as not in concordance with the state. Other northern states like New York and New Jersey passed gradual laws saying "when a slave is born July 4th upon reaching the age of 21, they are free." Slavery was thus becoming sectional. The gradual laws were eventually let go cutting slavery more diligently. In the South, there was a discussion of slavery becoming a necessary evil. Manumission also came into process where owners had the ability to free slaves. Jefferson requested that as America expands, slavery not expand in the Southwest, but his request did not pass. The Northwest banned slavery, and in 1787 the Northwest Ordinance and the Constitution began to play a major role in the Constitutionality and legality of banning slavery.…

    • 2142 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Civil War Compromise

    • 1729 Words
    • 7 Pages

    The nation created several compromises to create peace, beginning with the Missouri Compromise in 1820. Congress created the Missouri Compromise to ensure that the United States had an equal amount of free and slave states comprising it, so that Congress would remain balanced. This compromise allows Missouri to enter the Union as a slave state, while also adding Maine to the Union as a free state to maintain balance. However, this compromise also states that any state north of the Mason-Dixon line, “contemplated by this act, slavery and involuntary servitude, otherwise than in the punishment of crimes, whereof the parties shall have been duly convicted, shall be, and is hereby, forever prohibited”. This compromise effectively divides the country by geography, and it indirectly splits people into a…

    • 1729 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    There were many different contributing factors to the start of The Civil War. Five of these causes were the Northwest Ordinance and Missouri Compromise, John Brown’s raid, The 1850 Compromise, The Kansas-Nebraska Act, and the constant conflict between the North and South. The Northwest Ordinance said the there could be no slavery in states north of the Ohio River, however slave holders moved west to new states. This then led to the Missouri Compromise which said no slave states passed the 36 30 degree. John Brown’s raid on the federal arsenal was considered by many to be the cause of the civil war. The 1850 Compromise was also heavily contributed to the start of the civil war. In the compromise New Mexico and…

    • 279 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Mexican War was fueled by the desire to annex Texas. President Polk asked congress for 2 million to help negotiate peace and settle the boundary with Mexico. David Wilmot attached his proposal The Wilmot Proviso to President Polk’s funding measure, which would prohibit slavery in the new territories acquired from Mexico, including California. This injected the controversial slavery issue into the funding debate, the House approved the bill and sent it to the Senate for…

    • 659 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The North and the South were very different economically. The South had little industry; it was based off of an agrarian economy (Doc B). Slaves picked cotton off the plantation and the farmers sold these bales to make money (Doc A). The Southerners wouldn't be able to keep their wealth without slaves working for free. If slavery was abolished, then the farmers would have to pay their slaves to do this back-breaking work, which will cause the farmers to go broke. This is why slavery was so vital in the South. Now, the North didn't care much about slavery because it didn't affect them greatly. The economy of the North was based off of industry, unlike the South. Both the Northerners and the Southerners relied on each other economically. The North depended on the South for cotton and tobacco (Doc D), and the South depended on the North for industrial materials, such as utility, the making of railroads and canals, etc. (Doc C).…

    • 676 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays