The sectional crisis in 1850 was mainly due to conflict of opinions about slavery in America. The conflict began because leaders in the United States split into two categories, the first wanted to…
The topic of slavery caused significant division in America. This was partly due to the fact that America had recently acquired the land known as present day California, Utah, Nevada, New Mexico, and Colorado. Aside from that, the results of the 1846 Mexican American War also led to the annexation of Texas (Howe). With such a huge increase in land, the big question came down to whether or not slavery would be prohibited, and many in the North and South held different viewpoints on the tolerance of slavery. Slavery inevitably became the most vital influence on the outcome of presidential election of 1848.…
In the 1850s, the North and South could not agree on anything and were in constant disagreements. In 1850, Henry Clay created the Compromise of 1850. In the compromise, it was said that California would be admitted as a free state which created a stir in the South since it would mean that the amount of Free states and slave states would be unbalanced (Shown in Document B). The North would now have power of the Senate and superiority over the South. The country would give Texas ten million dollars if they gave up claims to Mexico. This would take away a large piece of territory for a relatively low sum. There would be abolition of slave trade in Washington D.C., but not slavery. This meant that emancipation of slavery in the nation’s capital was starting. Also, Mexico and Utah’s slave status rested on popular sovereignty which leaned toward Free State status due to the incompatibility of the plantation system with the environment. Then, there would be a Fugitive Slave Law put in to place which would compel local officials to capture and return runaway slaves along with denying them jury trials, which some congressmen were against (Document F). Daniel Webster also delivered the Seventh of March speech backing this compromise up as everyone else did not like the idea and explained why he thought it was necessary (Document A). This caused the South distress…
The Constitution can be interpreted in many different ways, which leads to sectional discord and tension. For many reasons, the South evidently did not like what the constitution said. There were many conflictions with the compromise of 1850, map shown in (Document A) and the fugitive slave act. Certain northerners were so against slavery and the fugitive slave act that they even posted warnings for the slaves. (Document C), [shows how kidnappers were being sent after the slaves, and how Northern abolitionists were revolting against the South's rules and regulations.] This fugitive slave act also helped drive the tension deeper into the Un-United States.…
1. The three components of the American System were establishing a new protective tariff, starting a new transportation system and restoring the national bank. Henry Clay thought that each of these components would strengthen and unify the nation because he thought the American system would unite the nation's economic resources because the south would grow food and raise animals that the north would eat and in return the south would by the manufactured goods the north made. A new transportation system would allow trade between the north and the south. Now America could finally become independent economically. And the tariff would help because during the War of 1812 British merchants brought a great deal of products to the United States and sold them at much lower prices than American made goods, so the tariff would raise the prices of the British goods so the American merchants could sell their products at a lower price.…
The rupture in the United States that the argument over slavery had made was far too deep and wide to be mended by compromises alone. During the early 1800s, Americans were optimistic about fixing the slavery issue by passing laws and bills that satisfied both the North and South, but they were proved largely ineffective. It seems that sectionalism had begun to overcome nationalism. Northerners tended to not only disagree with themselves having to comply with fugitive slave laws and with slavery being legal in new states, but also with the South being allowed to practice slavery altogether. The South demanded that Northerners help return the Souths legal, property (runaway slaves), that citizens of the South who wished to move west be allowed to bring their slaves with them, and that the North not mess with the keystone of their agricultural economy. Hostilities between the two sections were seen everywhere from Church to politics, and at such levels that made it clear that no compromise could have possibly made everyone happy.…
The Whigs won the election; however, the Free Soil Party, and their anti-slavery values, caught the eye of America to a degree that no social or economic factor had. Again, westward expansion would set the scene for political upheaval, when California’s statehood threatened the balance of power. The argument exposed the intensifying resentment between the North and South, and publically portrayed the speed at which the nation was moving toward a civil war. A great pacifist known as Henry Clay offered a compromise that, like the Missouri compromise, would solve short term issues but change the views of citizens toward the Union in a detrimental manner. Clay’s compromise of 1850 marked the first of many political advancements of the decade. Briefly, the compromise stated that California would be admitted, by congress, as a free state, but Congress would then protect slavery, by passing Fugitive Slave Laws—laws that slaves, who escaped to the North, must be given back, and northern citizens had an obligation to do so—and the territories of Utah and New Mexico solve the issue of slavery by popular…
As previously mentioned, slavery was at the root of most tensions that arose between the North and the South, and the annexation of new land created much conflict concerning the status of slavery. Missouri Compromise dictated that the lands of the Louisiana Purchase north of the 36¢ª30¡¯ parallel were to be free of slavery. Democratic senator Douglas, introduced a bill in early 1854 which proposed the division of the Nebraska Territory into two units, Kansas and Nebraska, and the application of his idea of ¡°popular sovereignty¡± which would allow the territorial vote to decide the area¡¯s status concerning slavery. This proposal would, in effect, repeal the Missouri Compromise, which greatly angered abolitionists and Northerners. Douglas and Southern supporters won a congressional debate and shortly after, the bill was signed. With the passage of this bill, many conflicts arose. Much personal turmoil erupted in the…
Westward Expansion and Sectionalism (1840-1861) At the end of the Mexican War during Polk’s term as president, many new lands west of Texas were yielded to the United States, and the debate over the westward expansion of slavery was rekindled. Southern politicians and slave owners demanded that slavery be allowed in the West because they feared that a closed door would spell doom for their economy and way of life. Whig Northerners, however, believed that slavery should be banned from the new territories. Pennsylvanian congressman David Wilmot proposed such a ban in 1846, even before the conclusion of the war. Southerners were outraged over this Wilmot Proviso and blocked it before it could reach the Senate. When this act was denied it essentially caused America to become a country of two halves. Sadly, this division caused Americans to provoke wickedness against one another: the North vs. South, Slavery vs. Freedom, and Brother vs. Brother.…
On February 7, 1871, seven slave states declared independence, joined the confederate states of America and elected Jefferson Davis as president.In davis’ message to Confederate Congress (Doc H), he expressed his view that the constitution set up a compact between independent states, rather than a national government made up of states. The misconception that the Constitution set up a national government, he said, was the perception of a certain political school in the North. In contrast, Lincolns message (Doc I) questions how the southern states could withdraw from the Union without the consent of the other states. As these two documents have pointed out, the different interpretations by which the Northerners and Southerners interpreted the Constitution was one of the main sources of sectional discord and tension. Despite efforts at preserving the Union, social and economic forces were pulling the North and South apart. Northern society was beign cultured by the industrial revolution, and by educational and humanitarian movements that had little effect in the South. Southern society was dominated by agriculture, and therefore slavery was a necessary institution and way of life. Since the North and South were essentially two different societies united under…
5. Slavery’s expansion exacerbated sectional differences because there were already many people questioning their concerns about how a free nation could abide slavery. Many southerners realized that slavery was morally or biblically wrong to own people, but they also viewed it as an economically necessary way to live and prosper in the South. However, many northerners saw it differently, already creating the basis of sectional differences.…
The Armistice of 1850 With the belief of their young country’s “manifest destiny”, and victory over Mexico in the Mexican-American War, the United States of America conquered most of the western portion of their continent. While obtaining large territories of land through victories from warfare and at the cost of bargained prices, this proud nation found itself with an immense crisis sitting within the palms of their hands. As the improvement of the United States came through territorial gains, their triumphant progress was met with digression. Although new territories were under the possession of the United States, many leaders of this powerful nation were unsure whether their newly acquired land was fit to be a territory of free soil or slavery. While many proposed arguments for pro-slavery land, many counter acted with free soil proposals and arguments. During the year of 1850, the United States of America managed to ease the tension between those at opposite spectrums of this confrontation through the Compromise of 1850.…
North and South The United States of America, the great democratic experiment, was just that. Not since the great Greek culture had a government of, for, and by the people existed. The entire world felt, that on a large scale, democracy would inevitably lead to anarchy; our founding fathers were determined to prove them wrong. But as the political stand off with the British became a secession issue, a great issue split the future nation. Slavery, a southern necessity, both social and economic, threatened the unity of our nation. A nation that would one day be the greatest the world had ever known. During the development of the thirteen colonies, diversity set in early. In the south the temperate climate made the growth of tobacco a suitable and very profitable business. Cultivation of this crop required a lot of land, and therefore settlers lived far apart. Northern Colonies, though, were much more dependent on small farms, with closely knit communities. These differences were the seed of a sectional division that would plague the nation for a century. During the late seventeenth century, this fissure in the ideals of the colonies became apparent. Following the constant political irreverence from Britain, a majority of colonial representatives felt the need for independence. The Declaration of Independence was the document written to do this. It called for an abolition of slavery as well as freedom from British rule. Unfortunately, the South would hear nothing of it. Being strong defenders of states rights, most of the Southern states adhered to their believe in a government less like a supreme authority and more like a dominion of independent states. They would rather stay loyal to their oppressive government than participate in one that shunned their way of life. In order to keep their dreams of independence, they North was forced to make the one cession they did not wish to make. In order to keep a unified nation, the slavery issue was deliberately absent from…
The time I went to America Have you ever been born somewhere else be sides the U.S? It’s not that often that you would know someone who’s full African and was born in Africa. It’s a completely different experience, and today I am going to tell you about the time I came over in America from Africa. I will be talking about how long the trip was, and the challenges we faced.…
When the Compromise of 1850 was made, the South wasn’t very fond of the idea. “If the agitation goes on, the same force, acting with increased intensity, as has been shown, will finally snap every cord, when nothing will be left to bind the States together except force.” (Document A) This shows the North’s control of the government and constant pressure on the South for their beliefs. Also it shows that if nothing is done to relieve the constantly growing pressure on the country, that it will fall apart. If the North continues to fail to form some sort of measures to please the South, the Union will not stay together. The North was also not happy with a lot of the compromises that were made and benefitted the South. One of these was the Fugitive Slave Law. They believed that the law was immoral and shouldn’t be followed. The North believe the law was “suicidal,” and that “the Union is at an end as soon as an immoral law is enacted.” (Document B) They thought that if this law were to be effective it would destroy the Union. There was very much discontentment within the states. So much that at one point, a man was beaten unconscious with a cane after delivering a speech to the House. (Document F) The people of the South did not agree with the North on many…