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Instances in the past have shown us just how well the U.S. can deal with its problems and still remain as a whole. Several times before in history the southern and northern parts of the United States have had differences of opinions, but the U.S. was always able to pull together and find a solution to their problem. In 1787 there was a dispute over how the government would be made up. The northern states and Madison wanted and proposed to have proportional representation, which meant that they would have a majority because there were more people in the North. William Paterson and the South called for equal representation. The dispute lead to the forming of The Great Compromise, which consisted of the House of Representatives and the Senate. The House would be made up by proportional representation and the Senate would be run under equal representation. Another issue still in 1787 was the question if slaves would count when calculating the population of states. The south of course wanted to count slaves, but the North refused to count them. This lead to the Three-Fifths Compromise that stated that slaves would count as 3/5 of one person. This compromises satisfied both the North and south without giving either a majority.
In 1820 a north and south dispute sprang up again, this time it was about the position of new states that entered the Union, whether the new states were going to be closed or open to slavery. In 1819 Missouri applied for statehood, both north and south want Missouri, because it would give the majority to whoever was fortunate enough to get a hold on Missouri. James Tallmadge tries gradual emancipation of slaves; it was rejected in the Senate where the South had an equal amount of representatives (twenty-two of forty-four). Next, Henry Clay takes his turn at the problem and comes up with the Missouri Compromise that stated that Missouri could enter the Union as a slave state, but the free states would get Maine as a free state, leaving twelve free and twelve slave states. It also drew up the thirty-six degrees thirty minute line in the Louisiana territory. Anything above that line would be a free state and below it would be a slave state. Once again the North and the South were at peace, but for how long?
Well, in 1833 the north-south dispute would awake once again like a bear after its long winter sluraber. The Nullification crisis of 1832 which was resolved in 1833 really begins in 1828 when Congress passes the "Tariff of Abominations" that raised taxes on all imported gooRAB. Southern farm states were very upset. John C. Calhoun wrote the South Carolina Exposition, in it he argued that although the South had fewer people in its population it didn't deserve to always be taken advantage of. Many people in the South were very anti-tariff. These "nullies" held a special convention where they decided to nullify the federal tariff. Even though President Jackson was very much in favor of state's rights he disapproved the actions taken by this group of people. The crisis was ultimately resolved when Henry Clay once again steps in and draws up a compromise; the 1833 Compromise to Tariff. It didn't eliminate the tariff, but it did reduce it by 10%. South Carolina and the rest of the South agree with it and the crisis was over. People now begin to think about slavery everyone knew that someday there had to be a crisis over the slavery issue. The dragon was put to sleep once again.
In 1850, two years after the U.S. - Mexican War, the U.S. Congress faced another problem, that involved the North and south once again. The South was upset because California had come into the Union as a free state. Congress comes up with the Compromise of 1850, that stated that California would come in as a free state, but the southerners would get a strict fugitive slave law, the Fugitive Slave Act. The compromise also eliminated the slave trade in Washington DC, but it didn't come up with a final solution to the north-south problem it simply pushed the problem back a few years.
The Compromise of 1850 would be the final peaceful solution to the problems between the North and south. From 1854 on, it would be all downhill for the United States of America, with a nuraber of problems and questions over the slavery issue, eventually resulting in the Civil War. All good things come to an end and for the U.S. the age of compromises had come to a bitter end. It could be said that slavery was an empty glass and that all the arguments, questions
and compromises had been the liquid that had slowly been filling up the empty glass until the glass could hold no more and finally spilled and caused a slippery mess, the worRAB which can be defined
as the Civil War.
The problems began right away in 1854 with the Kansas-Nebraska situation. The states of Kansas and Nebraska wanted to come into the Union and although the states were above the thirty-six degrees thirty minute line that had been created by the Missouri Compromise, the government could not decide whether to make them free or slave states. Stephen Douglas who was very intelligent, thought of an idea to solve all of the country's problems. He introduced
popular sovereignty. An idea that the states should decide for themselves whether to have slaves or not. The system was designed to end the north-south problems, but instead made the feud even
worst. It angered the North because they argued that popular sovereignty did not follow the rules that had been created by the Missouri Compromise. Popular sovereignty stood its ground and the
voting took place, but it was not fair. Since Kansas was borderline with a southern slave state the people there rushed over and casted their vote without even living in that particular state. Slavery
won, a group of people had a meeting and drew up the Lecompton Constitution, which was overwhelmingly pro-slavery. Antislavery people and Stephen Douglas said it was a fraud and refused to vote in favor of it. The president James Buchanan supported it and Douglas rejected it. Both were Democrats and this sole incident would split the Democratic party into two sides the North and the South. The Lecompton Constitution was rejected in Congress, but it had done its
damage.
As a direct result of the Kansas-Nebraska Act the Republican party had been born, a purely sectional party that was against the expansion of slavery to the western territory. In 1857 the entire nation was concentrated on the Dred Scott Case. Scott was a slave that had been brought to Minnesota, a free state, by his owner. After his owner's death Scott wanted and demanded to be freed. Scott's case ended up in the Supreme Court. Roger Taney the judge ruled the case as the following: First of all Dred Scott was not a citizen, second Congress could not regulate or prevent anyone from moving himself and his property anywhere in the nation thus, ruling the Missouri Compromise as unconstitutional. Taney believed this ruling would once and for all solve the slavery problems between the North and south, but instead opened up a wider gap between the two sides. It angered most of the northerners and leaRAB to more people joining the Republican party.
The rivalry was at its peak. Both north and south were equally upset at each other. It was more personal than ever. People had gotten hurt attempting to expand or stop slavery. Some incidents were very serious, John Brown for example wanted to take over an arsenal in Harpers Ferry, Va. He intended to give slaves guns so that they could turn on their owners. He failed, he was caught and was hanged for treason. In the North people came to see Brown as a hero who had died trying to fight something he thought was wrong. Southerners on the other hand, saw Brown as a typical northern abolitionist. They labeled him as crazy and dangerous. Again, the gap had been widen more.
In Noveraber 1860, Abraham Lincoln was elected president. Since Lincoln was a Republican, southerners knew that slavery would be attacked by Lincoln if he was elected president so they said that if Lincoln became president they would secede from the country; they kept their promise, before Lincoln could take office in March 1861 seven southern states had seceded. When Lincoln took office he tried to find some way to keep the country together without going to war. Many ideas were thought of, but one happened to stand out as the only one that had a chance at being approved. The Critenden Compromise proposed to expand the Missouri Compromise line at thirty-six degrees thirty minutes all the way to the pacific coast of the United States. President Lincoln and the Republicans rejected it, because it went against everything they had ever believed in (no slavery in the western territory). The only compromise available to the Republicans was war.
In conclusion, the bitter rivalry between the North and south was like a rubber band. Too much pulling causes it to snap. Each of the previous compromises had just placed the problems on hold until 1861, when the answering machine could not hold anymore messages. Eventually someone had to answer the call, it just happened to be Lincoln who picked up the phone. By 1861 the gap between north and south was huge, there wasn't any compromise capable of resolving the many problem they had, the biggest one being slavery. The only sure answer was war, whoever had the most determination was going to win and have the things they had fought so hard for.
In 1820 a north and south dispute sprang up again, this time it was about the position of new states that entered the Union, whether the new states were going to be closed or open to slavery. In 1819 Missouri applied for statehood, both north and south want Missouri, because it would give the majority to whoever was fortunate enough to get a hold on Missouri. James Tallmadge tries gradual emancipation of slaves; it was rejected in the Senate where the South had an equal amount of representatives (twenty-two of forty-four). Next, Henry Clay takes his turn at the problem and comes up with the Missouri Compromise that stated that Missouri could enter the Union as a slave state, but the free states would get Maine as a free state, leaving twelve free and twelve slave states. It also drew up the thirty-six degrees thirty minute line in the Louisiana territory. Anything above that line would be a free state and below it would be a slave state. Once again the North and the South were at peace, but for how long?
Well, in 1833 the north-south dispute would awake once again like a bear after its long winter sluraber. The Nullification crisis of 1832 which was resolved in 1833 really begins in 1828 when Congress passes the "Tariff of Abominations" that raised taxes on all imported gooRAB. Southern farm states were very upset. John C. Calhoun wrote the South Carolina Exposition, in it he argued that although the South had fewer people in its population it didn't deserve to always be taken advantage of. Many people in the South were very anti-tariff. These "nullies" held a special convention where they decided to nullify the federal tariff. Even though President Jackson was very much in favor of state's rights he disapproved the actions taken by this group of people. The crisis was ultimately resolved when Henry Clay once again steps in and draws up a compromise; the 1833 Compromise to Tariff. It didn't eliminate the tariff, but it did reduce it by 10%. South Carolina and the rest of the South agree with it and the crisis was over. People now begin to think about slavery everyone knew that someday there had to be a crisis over the slavery issue. The dragon was put to sleep once again.
In 1850, two years after the U.S. - Mexican War, the U.S. Congress faced another problem, that involved the North and south once again. The South was upset because California had come into the Union as a free state. Congress comes up with the Compromise of 1850, that stated that California would come in as a free state, but the southerners would get a strict fugitive slave law, the Fugitive Slave Act. The compromise also eliminated the slave trade in Washington DC, but it didn't come up with a final solution to the north-south problem it simply pushed the problem back a few years.
The Compromise of 1850 would be the final peaceful solution to the problems between the North and south. From 1854 on, it would be all downhill for the United States of America, with a nuraber of problems and questions over the slavery issue, eventually resulting in the Civil War. All good things come to an end and for the U.S. the age of compromises had come to a bitter end. It could be said that slavery was an empty glass and that all the arguments, questions
and compromises had been the liquid that had slowly been filling up the empty glass until the glass could hold no more and finally spilled and caused a slippery mess, the worRAB which can be defined
as the Civil War.
The problems began right away in 1854 with the Kansas-Nebraska situation. The states of Kansas and Nebraska wanted to come into the Union and although the states were above the thirty-six degrees thirty minute line that had been created by the Missouri Compromise, the government could not decide whether to make them free or slave states. Stephen Douglas who was very intelligent, thought of an idea to solve all of the country's problems. He introduced
popular sovereignty. An idea that the states should decide for themselves whether to have slaves or not. The system was designed to end the north-south problems, but instead made the feud even
worst. It angered the North because they argued that popular sovereignty did not follow the rules that had been created by the Missouri Compromise. Popular sovereignty stood its ground and the
voting took place, but it was not fair. Since Kansas was borderline with a southern slave state the people there rushed over and casted their vote without even living in that particular state. Slavery
won, a group of people had a meeting and drew up the Lecompton Constitution, which was overwhelmingly pro-slavery. Antislavery people and Stephen Douglas said it was a fraud and refused to vote in favor of it. The president James Buchanan supported it and Douglas rejected it. Both were Democrats and this sole incident would split the Democratic party into two sides the North and the South. The Lecompton Constitution was rejected in Congress, but it had done its
damage.
As a direct result of the Kansas-Nebraska Act the Republican party had been born, a purely sectional party that was against the expansion of slavery to the western territory. In 1857 the entire nation was concentrated on the Dred Scott Case. Scott was a slave that had been brought to Minnesota, a free state, by his owner. After his owner's death Scott wanted and demanded to be freed. Scott's case ended up in the Supreme Court. Roger Taney the judge ruled the case as the following: First of all Dred Scott was not a citizen, second Congress could not regulate or prevent anyone from moving himself and his property anywhere in the nation thus, ruling the Missouri Compromise as unconstitutional. Taney believed this ruling would once and for all solve the slavery problems between the North and south, but instead opened up a wider gap between the two sides. It angered most of the northerners and leaRAB to more people joining the Republican party.
The rivalry was at its peak. Both north and south were equally upset at each other. It was more personal than ever. People had gotten hurt attempting to expand or stop slavery. Some incidents were very serious, John Brown for example wanted to take over an arsenal in Harpers Ferry, Va. He intended to give slaves guns so that they could turn on their owners. He failed, he was caught and was hanged for treason. In the North people came to see Brown as a hero who had died trying to fight something he thought was wrong. Southerners on the other hand, saw Brown as a typical northern abolitionist. They labeled him as crazy and dangerous. Again, the gap had been widen more.
In Noveraber 1860, Abraham Lincoln was elected president. Since Lincoln was a Republican, southerners knew that slavery would be attacked by Lincoln if he was elected president so they said that if Lincoln became president they would secede from the country; they kept their promise, before Lincoln could take office in March 1861 seven southern states had seceded. When Lincoln took office he tried to find some way to keep the country together without going to war. Many ideas were thought of, but one happened to stand out as the only one that had a chance at being approved. The Critenden Compromise proposed to expand the Missouri Compromise line at thirty-six degrees thirty minutes all the way to the pacific coast of the United States. President Lincoln and the Republicans rejected it, because it went against everything they had ever believed in (no slavery in the western territory). The only compromise available to the Republicans was war.
In conclusion, the bitter rivalry between the North and south was like a rubber band. Too much pulling causes it to snap. Each of the previous compromises had just placed the problems on hold until 1861, when the answering machine could not hold anymore messages. Eventually someone had to answer the call, it just happened to be Lincoln who picked up the phone. By 1861 the gap between north and south was huge, there wasn't any compromise capable of resolving the many problem they had, the biggest one being slavery. The only sure answer was war, whoever had the most determination was going to win and have the things they had fought so hard for.