In the beginning of the 1860s, there were constitutional developments that arose to a radical extent because it suffices the beliefs of American citizens with the issue over slavery. For instance, Abraham Lincoln taking hold of the presidency was an impacting ...
The two factors that shape the Constitution as being pro-slavery: the necessity of the slaveholders to protect their private property by the means of the law and the limited support of the North for the abolition at the time of the drafting of the Constituti...
It is obvious that the South attempted to make very compelling arguments in order to defend their proslavery arguments, some being the Religious Defense, the Political Defense and the Economic Argument. However, each of these arguments are flawed and can be proven doubtful and unconvincing by the North’s antislavery arguments. Clearly, the two regions had very different beliefs on whether or not slavery should abolished, and it is evident that neither side of the debate would budge on their position. Though it is just one problem of several different problems, the issue of slavery was no doubt one of the causes of the Civil War, as the two sides were both very firm on their beliefs, and neither one was willing to budge.
Leading up to the final outbreak of the Civil War, the issue of slavery was greatly avoided until it became a huge controversy from 1850 to 1861, especially between the North and the South. From the start of the nation’s beginning, the Founding Fathers had collaborated to create the Constitution, which was expected to unite the nation and its people together. Evidently, as slavery threatened to shred apart the union, the Constitution was proved powerless to alleviate the rising tensions. As time progressed, the Constitution’s imperfections were exposed one by one to the Americans. By the 1850’s, the Constitution had failed to produce clear terms on the process of determining whether new states would be free or slave-holding, the status of slaves and free blacks concerning the Fugitive Slave Acts, and the issue of secession within the discontented states. All the defects contributed to the ultimate failure of the nation, with the impending Civil War not far away.
“Dictatorship naturally arises out of democracy, and the most aggravated form of tyranny and slavery out of the most extreme liberty,” a man by the name of Plato once spoke. Slavery is a topic commonly spoken about through the years of school, however, though commonly reviewed, we still manage to learn something new about the topic every year. There are those like James Oglethorpe who believed slavery was an issue that went against his beliefs, and he spoke out, “[s]lavery is against the gospel, as well as fundamental law of England. We refused, as trustees [of colony of Georgia], to make a law permitting such a horrid crime,” (Source H pg. 280). Nonetheless, there still remained a few who struggled to find the light at the end of the tunnel, few such as Isabella, “When we all gits free, they’s the long time letting us know,” (Source H
Before explaining how the US Constitution has contributed to the complexity of slavery, we must first understand the development of the constitution itself. The development of the constitution goes back to when the democratic government was on trial in the early makings America during 1775. The thirteen British colonies then, had challenged the form of government they live under, claiming the conditions in which they lived in has hindered their rights, life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. These thirteen colonies disabled themselves from the British Government and joined together to give birth to a union known as “The United States of America”. Although, they were a whole, each state had established their own form of government. Alone, as individual states, their own form of government had proven to be successful, however, as a whole; the union had many internal problems. These problems were enforcing law and order, dealing with taxes, debts, regulating trad...
...heir goals and beliefs. The common theme for pro-slavery was African-Americans were inferior to whites and unable to function in normal society without constant supervision. Abolitionist would have returned the statement addressing that slaves are the ones who care for the whites and their families. Slavery advocates viewed the subjugation of African-Americans as fundamental to the social hierarchy and economy. In return, abolitionist believed pro-slavery advocates would not have their way of life or luxuries if not for the suffering of slaves. Where a pro-slavery advocate viewed slaves as ungrateful and selfish, an abolitionist would question why should they be grateful? The importance of comparing and contrasting the different views during this time allows for a better understanding of American history and gives insight on the events that shaped this nation.
An issue that divided the nation was slavery and the constitution. This issue divided the nation along sectional lines. In order to insure the nations population southern voters agreed on the three-fifths clause. The three-fifths clause allowed three-fifths of slaves to be counted for as a representation in selecting a president. (Norton, A People and a Nation, 172). With the clause, the Constitution was able to get rid of future slave rebellions and riots. Slavery was the very thing that shaped the South’s social structure. It was the reason for economic growth, and was the main topic of political issues. If they gave too much freedom to slaves by being represented in the clause, there would be much needed focus on making sure a rebellion didn’t happen. Because of the Constitution, many argued that having slaves was a right to property. In the end, the Constitution was used in many arguments to support and oppose slavery at the same
Seventy Five years after the United States constitution was written this country faced multiple changes that led to revolutionary times of war, protesting, and violence. State rights and slavery were key issues that separated the Northern states form the people of the south. Four people emerged as leaders at this time: Harriet Tubman, Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, and John Brown. Frederick Douglass was a man who thought all men should be treated equal, but according to the constitution at this time men were not created equal. Fredrick Douglass, a self- educated escaped slave, became an important leader in the fight against slavery. His beliefs reflected the original ideals written in the constitution that all men are created equal. Douglass’s ability to persuasively write and speak against the moral sin of slavery led to changes in the Federal Constitution, and the acceptance of equality for all men.
Slavery was a staple of Southern economy and lifestyle which greatly increased after the 1820s. Slaveholders came under attack when abolitionist ideas gripped the North and threatened the Southern way of life. This resulted in Southerners trying to justify slavery, not only to the North, but to themselves. One planter and politician from South Carolina, James Henry Hammond, wrote a Proslavery Argument in 1845 to refute the accusations the abolitionists were making towards the South and the institution of slavery. He defended slave-owners when he wrote his argument and said that slaveholders were responsible to God and the law. He also said that these owners could not refuse to provide just care for their slaves or be “tyrannical or cruel.”
The Lincoln-Douglas Debates of 1858 was a very influential event that occurred in American history and has much significance, even till this day. The debates were in contest for the United States Senate seat in Illinois. The main topic involved in the debates was based around slavery and the separation of the union because of it. Both Lincoln and Douglas refer to the U.S. Constitution in their remarks and state different opinions surrounding what they interpret the meaning of certain parts regarding slavery to be.
The US constitution was written with great vision to create strong nation. The bill of right were written, it provide all humans with rights. The writers of the constitution we hypocrites, they didn’t abide by what they preached. Thomas Jefferson wrote himself “ all men are created equal” but he owned slaves. The founding father didn’t look or even think about slavery when they wrote the constitution. They were pre-occupied in getting the southern state to join the union and sign the new constitution. They southern states believed that the federal government shouldn’t mess with the issue on slavery because slavery was a state issue.
"The American constitution recognized slavery as a local constitution within the legal rights of the individual states. But in the North slavery was not adaptable to the local economy, and to many, it contradicted the vision of the founding fathers for a nation in which all men are to be free. The South considered slavery as a necessary institution for the plantation economy. It was linked to the local culture and society. As the United states expanded, the North worried that the South would introduce slavery into the new territories. Slavery had become both a moral issue and a question of political power." (Kral p61)
In The article “Slavery, the Constitutional, and the Origins of the Civil War”, Paul Finkelman discusses some of the events that he believes lead the United States to have a Civil War. He discusses how both the North and the South territories of the Untied States did not see eye to eye when it came to ab...
In his speech, Frederick Douglass made it clear that he believed that the continued toleration and support of slavery from both a religious and legal standpoint was utterly absurd when considering the ideals and principles advocated by America’s forefathers. He began by praising the American framers of the Constitution, an...