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1619-1819 - American Slavery - "A Peculiar Institution"

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1619-1819 - American Slavery - "A Peculiar Institution"

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As America grew, slavery expanded in the South as a means of cheap labor. However, there was always a debate about whether it should still be legal. By 1820, the northern states had passed emancipation laws that outlawed slavery. This caused the sectional divide between the North and the South grow more. Abolitionists in the North wanted the emancipation of all slaves, while southern slave holders wanted to expand slavery into the new territories that America was gaining.

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Missouri's application for statehood as a slave state caused a large national debate over whether slavery should be expanded to the West. This debate was partially resolved by compromises, known as the Missouri Compromise, that included Missouri being admitted as a slave state if Maine was admitted as free state to keep a balance in Congress, and that the West territories, north of the 36°30' parallel would not allow slavery. Although a compromise was reached, it increased sectional tensions because a physical line was drawn that divided the North and the South over the issue of slavery and also, following the Compromise issues arose where the South believed the amount of free territory wasn't equal to the slave territory.

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The Wilmot Proviso was a bill that would prohibit slavery in any territory that the US gained from Mexico. However, the bill was not passed because it failed in the Senate. This contributed to the deepening sectional tensions by reopening the debates over what territories would allow slavery and which wouldn't.

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The Compromise of 1850 was a bill that amended the Fugitive Slave Act to mandate that northerners help return slaves that escaped from the South. It forced people in the North to have to participate in the slavery that was going on in the South. This increased the sectional tensions by causing northerners to be unsatisfied with their role in returning escaped slaves and free slaves not having rights. The Compromise also admitted California as a free state and declared that the land gained from Mexico wouldn't adapt or restrict slavery. This caused Southerners to want to bring slavery to the west and the Northerners to fight against it.

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The Kansas-Nebraska Act was an act passed that stated that, in return for allowing the Nebraska territory to be settled in, Kansas would allow slavery and that every territory would decide the issue of slavery based on popular sovereignty. Although this act violated the Missouri Compromise, it still passed but not with argument from the North. Secular tensions increased because the North became more vocal in their belief that the act wasn't fair as now more slave states were being added in territory where slavery had been banned and formed the Republican party as a form of opposition. The passing of this act eventually led to Bleeding Kansas, where in the territory where both people who supported/opposed slavery were living and constantly fighting each other. Bleeding Kansas caused secular tensions because these were the first times where real animosity between slavery supporters/opposers formed, as they were in close proximity with each other.

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1859 - John Brown's Raid on Harpers Ferry

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1859 - John Brown's Raid on Harpers Ferry

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John Brown advocated for the stop of slavery and led a raid in Virginia in hopes of inciting motivation in slave to form their own revolts. Brown claimed that a significant political change, like slavery, couldn't be done without violence, which is why he did what he did. Brown's raid contributed to the secular tension because there was now someone supporting violent force for anti-slavery, which also fueled the fire for those who were fighting against slavery.

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Abraham Lincoln was the nominee for the Republican Party in 1860. He was against the idea of expanding slavery to the new territories. Because Lincoln was against slavery, the south threatened to secede if Lincoln won. This contributed to the sectional tensions by showing how the South was willing to secede from the Union if slavery was not allowed. Overall, after Lincoln's election South Carolina seceded in fear of slavery being outlawed and caused other Southern states to follow.

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Fort Sumter had become an outpost in a foreign land, and Lincoln had decided to send fresh supplies to the fort. In turn, Confederate warships turned back the supply and opened fire, which caused the garrison to surrender. These first shots where what started the Civil War, and were a result of the continuously rising secular tensions in the United States over the issue of slavery.