The Missouri Compromise

A Virginia newspaper entitled The Franklin Repository stated that the American North and South were clashing with, “irreconcilable differences of principle, and bleeding from wounds within their own household” on June 13, 1860, only a year before the civil war commenced. Compromises worked to diffuse tensions early on; however as ideas like popular sovereignty came into play, compromises were no longer effective. Cultural and economic differences between the North and South continually intensified until finally reaching a climax in 1861 when the civil war started in earnest.
The western expansion of the United States created many problems, especially proposed ideas such as the legalization of slavery in western states. This expansion forced
Although this provided America with space, it also caused many serious issues especially regarding the legalization of slavery in the new states. The North and South became forced to compromise over these issues. It all started with the Missouri Compromise, an idea formed in 1820 by member of the United States Senate and House of Representatives, Henry Clay. The Missouri Compromise maintained the balance of slave and free states in the United States Senate and remained effective for years. After the Missouri Compromise, more controversy emerged between the North and the South when the sixth president of the United States, John Quincy Adams, passed the Tariff of Abominations in 1828, which protected northern industry in urban centers and hurt the southern planter. Contrary to the belief that next president, Andrew Jackson, would change the Tariff, he preserved it. With tension mounting between the entities, former Vice President John C. Calhoun resigned and the next big controversy started with the Nullification Crisis. Calhoun became elected to a Senate position in South Carolina after resigning, and he decided to nullify all taxes on the importation of goods to the state. A battle of state rights versus federal authority loomed
After the Nullification Crisis, America proved victorious in the Mexican War of 1848, which meant the acquisition of even more land. Next, Henry Clay developed another key compromise, the Compromise of 1850 which provided yet another distinction between the American North and South. Under the compromise, Utah and New Mexico could now operate under popular sovereignty. In the North, no states could operate under popular sovereignty. With this, the North and South could be compared to two different, independent countries as both had significantly different government structures and cultures. Four years later, in 1854, the tensions reached a tipping point with the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act which stated that these two states could also operate under popular sovereignty. This led to “Bleeding Kansas” as violence ensued, and people travelled from all over America to voice opinions on a relatively small but gory war. Now, a civil war loomed large in America as both entities expressed widely divergent views and compromises had