Territorial Issues Before the onset of the Great American Civil War, a huge debate was raging among the citizens, and politicians of the Untied States. Slavery was the main issue that separated the Northern and Southern states, but another, more complicated issue was at hand. As settlers began to talk about the “Manifest Destiny,” and expand westward, new territories were being given statehood. The formation of these new states rose to a new question: should these new states welcome slavery within their boundaries? Three distinct positions were taken on this issue.
Northerners don’t want to annex Texas because it will throw off the balance of Free states and slave states. In Document B. Channing argued against annexing Texas because if Texas was annexed to the States, it will strengthen the power of slave states. Meanwhile, in Document C. McDuffie want to annex Texas because it will lead to an increase of slave population. War against Mexico was also a source of division. President Polk want to go to war with Mexico, while the Wig protested against going to war with Mexico.
“The Missouri Compromise succeeded in minimising divisions between the north and south in the years 1820 to 1850. Do you agree?” (30) In 1819 Missouri applied to join the union causing great aggression and hostility by the Northern congressmen. Seeing as by 1819 the original 13 states had incredibly grown to 22, with 11 being equally slave and 11 being slave free, the admission of Missouri would tilt the balance. The Free states opposed Missouri’s admittance causing a period of uproar and furious debates, with Southern and Northern congressmen both being lined up against each other. However, Senator Henry Clay set out proposals which eased tensions by 1820; being able to balance the tilt between none-slave and slave states.
Just like these two there were many people who did not even like that there was a war in the first place but there was really no choice. Lincoln at one point did not even feel that he was capable enough of completely getting rid of slavery because he knew that it would cause problems in the future. He knew that abolishing slavery would turn the north and south against each other even more than it already had. (Pederson, Estell, & Kenneth, 1994). Just because he did not immediately take advantage of his position, probably do what any other would do today, and abolish slavery does not mean he supported it.
Congress disagreed because they were afraid that Lincoln’s primary goal of national unity was set up as to fast of a program and this meant that congressed believed that Lincoln would return to the old southern ruling class to power. (American Promise 501) This wanted the whites to have loyalty and for the blacks to have guaranteed rights. The freed blacks that were
Secession for Slavery Brett Kovel Teed Hist 111 10-16-13 Nearly 155 years after the end of the Civil War, new questions of why the Confederate States seceded have arisen amongst the historical and national communities. Was secession from the Union because of slavery or because of a constitutional right? According to General Bradley T. Johnson,” every lover of constitutional liberty, liberty controlled by law, all over the world begins to understand that the war was not a war waged by the South in defense of slavery, but was a war to protect liberty won and bequeathed by free ancestors.” Now, General Bradley said this in 1896, nearly 31 years after the conclusion of the Civil War. It could be that he, like
This ordinance set the precedent of the United States expanding by creation of new states instead of expansion of existing ones. It also, however, banned slavery in the territories north of the Ohio River, which would mean that as these new states were admitted to the Union, the South would gradually lose their pro-slavery footing in Congress. At the time the Union was balanced equally between slave and non-slave states, a disruption of the balance meant the chance of losing their power to quell Northern anti-slavery legislation. This issue
Examples included voting rights and citizenship, and the founders passed this to the states to decide. According to Bowles, 2011, American History 1865 to present End of Isolation, though slavery was the underlying reason for the war, another central debate was the rights of states versus the powers of the federal government. While Republicans were strongly in favor of a stronger federal government, Johnson opposed this direction and wanted states to have more power, includ¬ing the southern states. Which basically meant, more blacks in the government ; Johnson disapproved. As Johnson and Congress wres¬tled with these issues, their clash came to somewhat of a head with a disagreement over the Freedman’s Bureau.
Racheli Pollack APUSH Dr. Leach March 2, 2015 Reconstruction: An Ultra- Conservative Reaction Eric Mckitrick contends that Radical Reconstruction, which was designed to bring about a social revolution in race relations, failed to help the America Negro find his proper place in American life. He cites three reasons for the failure of Reconstruction: opposition from Southern whites, confused priorities, and the federal government’s unwillingness to maintain the long-term pressure necessary to accomplish Radical Republican goals. The Radical Republicans believed blacks were entitled to the same political rights and opportunities as whites. They additionally believed that the Confederate leaders should be punished for their roles in the Civil War. Three goals of radical republicans were they wanted to prevent the leaders of the confederacy from returning to power after the war, they wanted the republican party to become a formidable institution in the south, and they wanted the federal government to help African Americans achieve political equality by guaranteeing their rights to vote in the south.
Douglas developed his own doctrine of letting the people decide the question of slavery. He ridiculed Lincoln about his idea of state uniformity rather than domestic institutions and accused him of promoting a war of sectionalism. He also mocked “black Republicans” who he accused of demanding racial equality. Overall, he believed in the Southern interest, but supported popular sovereignty and ultimately alienated Southern voters. On the other hand Lincoln shared some Southern attitudes towards slaves as he agreed with the Dred Scott decision that slaves could not be citizens and refused to support the Fugitive Slave Law as well.