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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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Slavery played a prominent role in America’s history as it led to America being divided on the premise of slavery.  In 1820, slavery was made illegal in northern states; but, this only led to further conflicts and sectionalism as Southern states were for the expansion of slavery and were adamant about keeping their slaves while Northern states were adamant of stopping it.

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To maintain the balance of power in Congress after acquiring new land and the debates between slavery reappeared, Congress made Missouri a slave state and Maine a free state. Also, marking any territory above the 36’30 parallel slavery free. Although the Missouri Compromise was made to create equilibrium between the free and slave states; it further drove sectional tensions between the north and the south. Although it temporarily worked, with ideas like the Manifest Destiny, people started to move westward and would disrupt the balance of power once again.

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Also known as the Southampton Insurrection, Nat Turner’s Rebellion was a rebellion of enslaved Virginians that led to the death of at least 51 white people. Nat Turner’s Rebellion truly paved the way for feelings of rebellion and growing tensions between abolitionists and slaveholders. Slavery became more entrenched in Southern culture and abolitionists were disgusted with the innocent lives of African Americans being taken, declaring slavery as unconstitutional; further enraging the South

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The Mexican Cession was the result of the Mexican-American War. After America had won the war, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo led to America acquiring an additional 525,000 square miles of United States territory and giving up Texas. When America acquired new land, more people started to move West and southern states wanted to expand slavery while northern states did not want to expand slavery. This then led to the debate on how new states will decide on whether it will become a free state or slave state. Thus popular sovereignty would be the precursor of more conflict as people now get to decide on which certain territories will become a free state or slave state.

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The Compromise of 1850 was a sequence of five laws that proceeded in the year 1850. The five laws were mainly focused on the issue of slavery in the United States while maintaining appease to both the Northern and the Southern states.
There were many aspects of the Compromise of 1850 that deepened sectional tensions primarily between the North and the South. One aspect of the Compromise was the Fugitive Slave Act that ultimately benefited the South more. This did not sit well with the North and they refused to enforce it therefore creating more sectional tension with the South.

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The Kansas Nebraska Act was an act passed in 1854 that ultimately repealed the Missouri Compromise, created two new territories-Nebraska and Kansas-, and allowed for popular sovereignty. Not only did this Act perform these things, but it also destroyed the Whig Party which birthed a new Republican Party shortly after. The Kansas Nebraska Act contributed to deepening sectional tensions due to the fact that the repealing of the Missouri Compromise now called for a risk in slavery expansion where it was formerly prohibited. This maddened the Northern states because they were free states who wanted no slavery. Because the Northern states became irritated with this event, it enlarged their disdain for the Southern states.

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The Election of 1860 calls to be one of the most important, complex, and consequential elections in history. The two candidates were Abraham Lincoln (Republican) and John C. Breckinridge (Democrat). In the end, Lincoln had won the election. Although he did not get much popular votes, he did get the majority of the electoral votes despite not being on the Southern ballots and failing to win a majority in Congress. This deepend sectional tensions by the Republican Party of Lincoln signaling to many white southerners that their position in the union was hopeless therefore dividing the northern and southern states even more because Lincoln was anti-slavery.

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Fort Sumter was essentially the first battle of the Civil War. It took place at a fort located in Charleston, South Carolina. Essentially, this fort had not much supplies therefore Buchanan sent a merchant to go to Fort Sumter with additional troops and supplies. Shortly after, Confederate guns fired at the vessels which were between the North and the South. Because of this, sectional tensions deepend due to the fact that the South triggered the fighting of the Civil War which provoked the North to assemble an army.