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The Northern States: Free States Or Slave States?

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In 1787, the Constitution was written to unite all of the states together. At this time, the Southern States were very agriculturally focused and the Northern States were very industrialized. There were some disagreements between the states regarding the Constitution and division began to take place in the United States. Slavery was a controversial topic at the time. Enslaving African Americans had been a problem since the early 17th century. This issue was discussed in several governmental assemblies/meetings, but since it has such a big role in America’s economy, no one has done much about it. There has been many debates on whether states should be admitted as free or slave states. The government attempted to solve these conflicts by putting in place the Compromise of 1850, The Missouri Compromise, and the Kansas Nebraska Act. These acts did not fulfill to their potential and the country lead to splitting up. The seceding (southern) states joined together to form the Confederate States of America. The Confederacy was led by Jefferson Davis. The Northern States formed a Union, which was led by current president Abraham Lincoln. This division led to the beginning of the Civil War. The confederate states wanted slavery to be legal because without slaves, all of their …show more content…

Not only were the North and South opposed on the topic of slavery, they also held opposite positions on political interests. The Southern states enforced state’s rights, while the Northern states were more for the national government and being a union. The Confederacy believed that each state should have the right to choose whether they want to be a free or slave state. The Southern states requested to pass an act called the Fugitive Slave Act in 1850. This act mandated that fugitive slaves would be provided for the return to their state. The Confederate states argue that the North’s reluctance to enforce the Fugitive Slave

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