Territorial disputes have been the reason behind many wars and conflicts. As the amount of people increase and land’s value becomes greater, greed becomes stronger. This greed has the potential to overwhelm some people and transform them into what most may consider monsters. Before 1861, a time of blatant racism and divided thoughts, there was the United States that functioned as if it were two completely different countries. The Confederacy, better known as the south wanted more land and sought out to run their land the way they intended it to be, using slaves to cover the majority of laborious work; however, the Union had other plans. In 1820, the Union and the Confederacy tried to come to terms by creating the Missouri Compromise; even after …show more content…
When Missouri applied to be part of the states, many northerners were panicked because it was a pro-slavery territory and they felt that slave states had too much power already. In 1820, however, Henry Clay of Kentucky announced that if Maine were to be a free state then Missouri should be allowed to be a state too. From this came the notion that states be admitted in pairs, one slave and one free. It was also said that no slavery was allowed above the 36 30 latitude line. Despite the fact that the Missouri Compromise had taken place, slavery was still creeping into the north guised under the legal matter of “indentured servitude.”1 While the south does have a reputation for being unruly, they were not the only ones to break the rules and pass it off as legal. 30 years after the Missouri Compromise, California became a free state. This upset the balance of 12 free and 12 slave holding states.In order to compensate for the Union reciveing a feee nd the south getting no land, the Confederacy recieved what, essentially, they already had. The Fugitive Slave Act was put into effect on September 18, 1850. Section 6 of the act …show more content…
The Confederacy had many considerable reasons as to why slaves were actually beneficial, not only to them but to all of the United States. They claim to be more productive with slaves and prove that the economy is boosted significantly with slaves compared to an economy without the use of slaves. The slaves are also able to produce a remarkable amount of cotton that is sold to the north which is mutually beneficial to both parties. The Union’s argument explains that while cotton is very valuable, the south’s method of producing it is unacceptable. They believe that owning slaves is wrong because African Americans are people too, and no human being should be forced to go through the everyday struggle that these people had to endure. While the Union’s argument may have been the side that most people would agree with, they were not right in their actions. John Brown, an abolitionist, hated slavery and his fury boiled over into intense violence. After the Sacking of Lawrence, when the south attacked a northern hotel, John Brown retaliated with the Pottawatomie Creek Massacre where he murdered five pro-slavery advocates. Brown later invaded the south and started arming slaves with weaponry to revolt against their owners. In the end, the slaves were re-captured and Brown was
The Missouri Compromise started with the subject of slavery and how westerners could not agree whether to permit it or to exclude it. Those settling to the south wanted slavery for economic reasons such as labor while those settling to the north had no use for slavery at all. Politicians in Congress had attempted to preserve a sectional balance between the North and the South. There had been a balance of 11 slave and 11 free states but once Missouri bided for statehood the North raised alarm because slavery was well established there. The issue here was that if Missouri came in as a slave state, it would tip the political balance in the South’s favor.
It wasn’t until Maine sought statehood that Henry Clay came up with the idea as admitting Missouri as a slave state and changing Maine to a free state. The reason for the change is so that the balance between slave and free states is still evened out. Along with changing Maine the Senate wanted to split the Louisiana purchase between north and south (36°30′), having North as a free state and South as
“But this momentous question, like a fireball in The night, awakened and filled me with terror. I considered it at once as the knell of the Union” (Jefferson). This is from a letter written by Thomas Jefferson to Thomas Holmes in 1820 talking about the issue of slavery and the Missouri Compromise, and Thomas Jefferson was afraid that the Congress may keep on compromising to satiate the south’s want for slavery. The people in the north and the south kept I arguing till the Civil War, whether slavery should be continued or if they should get rid of this abominable institution, but Henry Clay did not want there to be a civil war so he helped write a compromise to keep the peace between the feuding halves of America dreaming that peace would be achieved. Even though many people in the south of America through the Missouri Compromise of 1820 would be beneficial, it ultimately failed, and it only postponed
In February 1819, New York Representative James Tallmadge Jr. electrified the proceedings by proposing an amendment to ban the transport of more slaves in Missouri as a condition of statehood, even though there were more than 2,000 slaves living there. From here the debate began (Text p. 316). The South felt that the U.S. government had no power to restrict slavery, which was protected under the Constitution. The North felt that slavery was evil and should be restricted to the current slave states.
The conflict over slavery became more brutal as the United States expanded westward. It began to force Americans to either identify themselves as anti-slavery or pro-slavery. The discovery of new states led to the conflict on whether they should be admitted as free states or slaves states. Compromises, such as the Missouri Compromise of 1820 were attempted to settle the conflict of free states or slave states. The Missouri Compromise declared that all new states above the line would be establish as free states, and all states below the line would be establish as slave states.
1. Missouri Compromise (1820) By 1819, the United States were composed of twenty-two states, balanced between free states and slave states. In the late 1819, the Missouri Territory had almost reached the number necessary to apply for its statehood. Eager to be part of the Union, the Missouri Territory asked the Congress to be admitted as a slave state into the Union.
How did sectionalism contribute to the ongoing debate about the admission of states? Be sure to discuss the Missouri Compromise in your response. Sectionalism contributed to the ongoing debate about the admission of states by dividing people over the issue of slavery because different regions had different visions for the country. To begin, the north, being mainly composed of manufacturers and food farmers, favored an American economy that was based off of manufacturing. However, the south, being almost entirely composed of those who produced cash crops, favored an American economy based off of farming.
The rebirth of Christianity reminded many that slavery was a sin, providing the basic moral reasoning as to why the institution required reform. The long-standing tradition, which many believed would eventually dissipate, continued its stretch from the early 17th century. The country grew in a considerably divisive manner, the south even taking pride in their heavily-established slavery system. When Missouri wanted admission into the Union, increasing friction dictated it necessary for the proposal of the Missouri Compromise by Henry Clay, in which Missouri would be admitted into the Union as a slave state and Maine as a free state. Slavery would also be prohibited in all states above the Mason Dixon line.
Prior to 1820 the free states and slave states were equal in number within the union. That is until 1819 came in which Missouri had requested statehood and to become part of the union. The first attempt to solve this issue of Missouri’s statehood was the Tallmadge Amendment. This amendment was proposed by James Tallmadge and had several provisions. These provisions included not allowing immigration of enslaved people into Missouri and emancipating slaves after the age of 25 but when it was sent to the house of representatives, it failed, turning it into the Missouri Deadlock.
The Missouri Compromise was an attempt by the United States government to diffuse the issue of slavery. The issue of slavery had arisen in the recent years due to the expansion of the country. The question of slavery in every new territory rocked the nation. The Missouri Compromise was one of the government’s last attempts to fix it diplomatically.
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
The Senate leadership quickly joined the admission of Maine to be either a free state of not with Missouri into a single bill, which if passed would domain the concise balance of sections in the Senate. While the Northern majority still determining to enforce gradual manumission, Senator Jesse Thomas of Illinois suggested that slavery should be prohibited not in Missouri but in all the rest of the Louisiana Purchase lying north of 36°30′ latitude. The Thomas proviso passed the House 95 out of 100 Northern rep. while Southerners were 39 to 37. By the Thomas proviso, 18 Northern rep. voted for Missouri statehood which was enough for it to pass with the support of a solid South.
When Abraham Lincoln became President there was a fear from the southerners that the southern way of life would end. The southerners thought that if the western territories became free states that the Republicans would change the Constitution and make slavery in all areas outlawed and many thought that they would leave the Union before this inflicted upon them. The southerners held back from the division until 1860 when Lincoln became President. In history it is known that South Carolina was the first state that began the secession. “On December 20, 1860, a state convention repealed South Carolina’s ratification of the U.S. Constitution and voted to withdraw from the Union.
Slavery was a big issue in the 1800s. It divided the country into an argument between having slavery or not having slavery. It also made a conflict between the north and south and they could not agree on it. Some wanted to keep it, some wanted to get rid of it. The states would argue and they could not come up with a compromise.
The issue the compromise was about was whether there should be slavery in the western territories. Maine wanted to be added to the Union, however, slavery was banned there. If Maine were to be added to the Union, it would upset the balance between free and slave states in the nation and the Senate. So, the Missouri Compromise, proposed by Senator Henry Clay, allowed Maine to enter the Union as a free state, and allowed Missouri to be entered into the Union as a slave state.