The Pros And Cons Of Slavery

531 Words2 Pages

The spirit of compromise, which had helped the nation avoid civil war in earlier crisis, totally broke down by 1860. A series of events and movements aggravated the debate on slavery to the breaking point. First came the Compromise of 1850, a package of bills which established five very controversial points that would eventually divide the nation. One part of this plan included turning the rest of the Mexican Cession into federal land, in which slavery would be decided by popular sovereignty. This infuriated the North, as the decision allowed slavery to spread throughout the country. Secondly, as a result of this compromise, the Fugitive Slave Act was put into action. It made helping runaway slaves a crime and allowed officials to arrest fugitives in free states. Not only does this law make the North physically involved and culpable, it also challenges their beliefs and morals. By law, it became the Northerners’ duty to capture runaway slaves so they could be returned to their masters. In addition, antislavery literature had a huge effect over the debate regarding slavery. Novels suc...

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