Revolutionary War Dbq Essay

The Revolutionary War was fought with the intention of emancipation of from a greater power and being able to enjoy the rights of self-government and self-determination. Many enslaved African Americans related to the rebel’s cause and their struggle to be free. They believe that once the United States gained its freedom, they would be freed as well. However this was not the case. As the century of the revolution closed, many political decisions led to slavery being entrenched even further in American Society. The recently ratified Constitution of The United States, the discovery of cotton as a cash crop, and the Louisiana Purchase all led to the westward expansion of slavery in America.

Shortly after the failure of the Articles of Confederation,

The document itself emphasized heavily on the rights that should be ensured to each and every American, but those rights were usually denied to those bound to servitude. The Constitution did nothing to halt the progression of slavery as the book stated, “The framers of the Constitution left slavery’s status within the existing states under the jurisdiction of the state legislatures” (Pg. 135). This quote explains that the Constitution took no formal stance on the matter of slavery, instead left the matter in the hands of the states. However, there were still provisions in the Constitution that protected slavery for years to come. The Constitution, which supposedly protected the freedoms of its constituents, had a stark amount of provisions which protected the institution of slavery in the United States. The first section of the Constitution in discussion is Article 1, Section 2, more commonly known as the Three-Fifths Compromise. This article was used in the determination of representation of the states in the House of Representatives and the Electoral College. The high population of slaves in the south often equated to political power

The admission of Missouri to the Union was met with discontent because many believed it would disrupt the tranquility of having an even number of slave states and free states. The solution was raised to admit the newest northern state of Maine into the union as a free state, maintaining the balance. After this decision was made, they banned slavery in the new territories above the latitude of 36°30’. This solution was referred to as the Missouri Compromise. This may have been seen a victory because of its limitation on the spread of slavery, but the compromise also led to slavery also becoming more deep-seated in the southern way of