The Balance of Power in the US

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California, and Utah’s, application to become states set off a decade of bitter struggle. Adding more states ensured the debate over slavery could not be avoided. Every attempt, by Congress and the courts, to settle disputes over slavery only added increased the actions each side took in an effort to protect their position. Throughout the decade tensions rapidly increased, as the North and south struggled for power. Both sides, naively, considered The Compromise of 1850 an end of the slavery debate. The provision admitting California as a free state shifted the balance of power in the Senate to the Free states. The balance of power in the senate, divided equally since the Missouri Compromise, now consisted of a majority of Free States. Additionally, the agreement called for popular sovereignty to decide the slave issue in future states. Texas received debt relief in exchange for land. The compromise also abolished slavery in Washington D.C. The only real benefit for the south was the provision calling for a tougher Fugitive Slave Law. The tougher laws, regarding slavery, only added to the tension as many in the north refused to obey them. In 1854, Congress passed the Kansas-Nebraska Act to create new territories. Stephen Douglass wrote the act in an effort to attract the transcontinental railroad to his home city of Chicago. Douglass needed Kansas, and Nebraska, to become official territories to make it happen. Douglass believed the act would help Chicago economically, and aid his hopes of becoming president by ending The Missouri Compromise. Popular sovereignty replaced geographic restrictions as the decided factor on the issue of slavery. The opportunity to move slavery further north galvanized the south, and outraged the n... ... middle of paper ... ...e Massacre, hatched a plan designed to create an uprising of slaves against their masters. Brown led twenty men, and took over an arsenal in Harpers Ferry, Virginia. Brown failed to spread the word of his plan to the slave population, and the siege turned into a standoff. Eventually, half of Browns men were killed, and Brown with the rest of his group were captured. Brown was quickly tried, convicted, and sentenced to death for treason. Despite the colossal failure of his plan, Brown helped his cause when by becoming a martyr in the abolitionist movement. The 1850’s saw divisions between the north and south play out across many parts of America. From California to the Capital building Americans debated, sued, wrote, beat, and killed in defense of their beliefs. These escalating tensions led to the Civil War, and the death of 600,000 people. Works Cited Textbook

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