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American Identity Dbq

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During the 19th century, the population of the United States of America was growing rapidly, and more and more Americans started to move west. Even though the American Identity was a strong as ever, there was still strife within the country. The Northern states and the Southern states had very different economical, political, and social aspects of life, leading to the two sides of the United States to disagree with each other. While the North supported Hamilton’s ideas of a strong central government and an economy that focused on manufacturing, the South favored Jefferson’s idea of stronger states’ rights and an economy that focused on agriculture. When Jefferson was president, he bought the Louisiana Territory, even though he believed in a …show more content…

The Southern states even threatened to secede because of the differences in opinion on slavery. To prevent this, Congress passed the Missouri Compromise in 1820. Missouri joined the Union as a slave state, but in exchange, Maine was admitted as a free state. In addition, all states and lands north of the 36°30’ parallel would be free (except for Missouri). This ‘compromise’ somehow managed to hold America together, but no one was really satisfied. The Northerners were upset about how Congress was allowing slavery to spread below the 36th parallel, and the Southerners were upset about how the government could have the power to make laws about …show more content…

Clay’s compromise fell through, because he attempted to force all of his ideas into one package. Later on in the year, Douglas managed to pass Clay’s compromise, albeit slightly altered. The goal of the compromise was to settle the conflict about slavery, but it only helped to push back the inevitable. Many Southerners were upset about how California was allowed into the Union as a free state, upsetting the balance of free vs slave states. Utah and New Mexico were allowed to chose whether or not they would become slave states (using popular sovereignty), only highlighting Douglas’s wishy-washy attitude about slavery. Slave trade was also abolished in the Capital, but slavery was not. The part of the compromise that upset the Northerns the most was the new Fugitive Slave Act. Fugitive Slaves no longer could have a jury trial, unless it was a special case. Many Northerners refused to listen to the act, and the abolitionists’ spirit only grew brighter and brighter in the

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