Manifest Destiny Problems

The North and South were already divided prior to the surge of exploration and conquering known as Manifest Destiny, which was largely fueled by new inventions, such as trains and the telegraph. The North had an economy quite contrary to that of the South. The North was industrializing, and the industry was quickly booming, producing many goods and boosting the North’s’ economy. The South, on the other hand, depended on its constant, slow, agricultural growth. This divide was dwarfed by the main problem that was always a challenge for the United States to deal with. Manifest Destiny caused the United States to expand beyond its current borders, causing new problems and sectionalism that ultimately set the United States up for war.
As Manifest Destiny did God’s work, spreading through the entire western half of the United States, many problems were created. Texas seceded from Mexico in 1836, fighting with Mexico for its true independence. Nine years later, Texas

The Fugitive Slave Act was brought to question later on, when a fugitive slave, Dred Scott, sued to try to acquire his freedom. (Martin)3 His attempts were futile, however, and many controversial rulings were made from this case. Slaves and free blacks were not citizens, non-citizens cannot sue in court, Congress lacks the power to control slavery in territories, excluding slavery violates the Fifth Amendment, and popular sovereignty and the Missouri Compromise were declared unconstitutional. (Martin)3 This ruling hurt the chance any other fugitive slaves had of getting free, or if any other free blacks had a court matter to solve, they no longer would be able to do so. This was a big step in the wrong direction for those against slavery, and may have even prevented a split in the Union for a little bit, but not for overly long, as slavery would always be a prominent problem for the