Essay #1 The political crisis of the 1850’s is one of the most underrated influential decades in US history. Many people talk about the 1920’s and the 1940’s and 50’s; however, much of that history ─ especially of that between the late 1940’s and the late 1960’s ─ was predicated upon by the crisis of the 1850’s. To understand its importance, one must understand its composition, its origin, and its effect. The crisis of the 1850’s, predicated upon the furious debates of slavery in new western territories and consisting over debates of states’ rights versus federal power, had lasting effects directly concerning the Civil War and on the nation especially in relation to the century long ideological battle over race in America. The causes of the …show more content…
The Illinois Senate race of 1858 between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas had famous Lincoln- Douglas debates that helped elevate Lincoln to a higher star status within the Republican party which greatly influenced his popularity for the 1860 presidential elections. Douglas’ Freeport Doctrine decreased Douglas’ influence and popularity in the South, making the election of 1860 largely sectional which the more populated, more Republican North won. The underlying discussion over slavery ─ i.e. Dred Scott decision, Freeport Doctrine, etc. ─ brought up the ideological debate of the position and place of blacks, thus the ideological battle of race in America that was fought and largely dominated by the South for almost a century. Without the crisis of the 1850’s and what was the central debate at the time. Neither the Civil War, fourteenth through fifteenth amendment, nor the ideological battle over rave would have happened when they did. This decade, surrounded by great periods in US history such as the Gold Rush and the Civil War, was in direct correlation with everything around it, being greatly influenced by the Gold Rush and directly influencing the Civil War as well as making ripples throughout history. Understanding influential periods before the crisis of the crisis of the 1850’s, the substance of the discussion, and the ominous effects of the 1850’s crisis, it is difficult to deny the importance of that decade in American
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 ...
Throughout the first half of the 19th century, and especially after the War of 1812, America has taken on yet another revolution. In this time period, the country saw a rapid expansion in territory and economics, as well as the extension of democratic politics; the spread of evangelical revivalism; the rise of the nation’s first labor and reform movements; the growth of cities and industrial ways of life; a rise in abolitionism and reduction in the power of slavery; and radical shifts in the roles and status of women.
During the time period of 1860 and 1877 many major changes occurred. From the beginning of the civil war to the fall of the reconstruction, the United States changed dramatically. Nearly one hundred years after the Declaration of Independence which declared all men equal, many social and constitutional alterations were necessary to protect the rights of all people, no matter their race. These social and constitutional developments that were made during 1860 to 1877 were so drastic it could be called a revolution.
The North and South in the years 1800 to 1860 were divided into two different territory which showed their different morale and lifestyle. Both factions conflicting ideas towards the issues affecting the nation. The compromise was made impossible by 1860 due to disagreement over states' rights, intense growth in sectionalism and dispute over the morals of slavery. During the time, the north underwent major social, industrial, and economic changes known as the Antebellum Period. The industrial economy took place in the North while the cotton kingdom took place in the South. The southern states wanted to expand slavery to other countries, while the northern states wanted to limit slavery to the South. In the Election of 1860 when Lincoln was elected, he believed slavery was wrong and made efforts to hold the Union together, Attempts such as the Missouri Compromise of 1820 and the Great Compromise of 1850 to bring reconciliation the North and South were made which led the Tariff/Nullification Controversy. In the early 1800s, the South and North faction made attempts to compromise but f...
The period from 1820 to 1850 was a time where several important and diversified events in American history occurred. This period was a period of extreme reform. There were many conflicts during this period in which brought about great change. Such conflicts include the Gibbons vs. Ogden, Erie Canal, American Temperance Society, David Walker’s Appeal, Anti-slavery society, Sack of Lawrence, and the Dred Scott Decision. All of these events had one goal, to make the society a better, improved place for everyone, both in the North and South. Inside three people’s lives: free black man, slave women and a middle class white woman, none of them actually had the freedom and rights as opposed to today. If a middle class white woman was married, her life was controlled by her husband. She had no property rights and could not vote. The free black man could own property and vote in many states outside the South. The slave woman had no rights at all. Her "master" could rape her and she could do nothing about it.
During the early to the mid-19th century, politics had become barbarian like, as it can be seen as a war zone. The arguments between the North and the south had grew, which would continue to separate them farther, and even farther apart. The Civil war was beginning to take shape, and every time a compromise was drawn, the war came closer to the present. For the longest time, slaves would run to the north to seek freedom from their masters, but it also came with a cost that, if they were caught they would have to deal with the punishments, and the wrath of their master. Though as the war grew closer, by the 1850, running away through the underground rail road would no longer be a very viable option due to the fugitive slave law that was put out in the 1850’s. Though the government issued the personal liberty laws that stated that they would not have to report any runaway slaves that they have seen. This made tensions between the North and the South even greater than before which would then bring us to the Civil war.
In history, it seems inarguably true that when a nation advanced in power and wealth, changes will soon followed. These changes affected the political, economic and social system of that nation, and often came as an advantage for wealthy individuals, while detrimental to others less fortunate. An example of this notion can be seen in American History. After the Civil War and the Reconstruction Era, America quickly surpassed Great Britain in industrial production thus became the leading nation in industrialization. However, great things do not come without a cost; the rapid technological expansion in the US would initiate the crisis of the 1890s. The crisis of the 1890s was the shift from the rural and agrarian society to a modern urban and industrial society.
After the Turner revolt, the topic of slavery took over American politics (3,91). Congressman David Wilmot suggested that legislation prohibit slavery in new territories that were conquered from the victory in a war with Mexico (3,91). Wilmot acted in hopes of stopping slavery’s expansion westward but his movement did not pass with the Senate and was therefore disregarded (3,91). The South’s population was slowly becoming overshadowed by the North’s, leaving little room to stop anti-slavery legislation (3,91). When California was admitted as a free state in 1850, the US was left with no slave state to balance this addition and some southerners desired a separation of slave states from the union (3,92). Congressmen and senators started to fear their political opponents tremendously; tension was slowly building up (3,92). The Compromise of 1850 admitted California as a free state but also passed a law making it painless for slave-owners to recover their escaped slaves from free states (3,92). Congress then passed the Kansas-Nebraska Act which allowed inhabitants to decide whether Kansas would be a free state or a slave state (3,92). In hopes of victory, the opposing sides invaded the territory which was after nick-named “Bleeding Kansas” by the easterners (3,92). This unsettled region would be the perfect setting to launch a crusade against slavery (3, 92). This scheme was exactly what John Brown had in mind (3,92).
After the War of 1812, America was characterized as the Era of Good Feelings due to the national pride witnessed during Monroe’s presidency. However, even though it was distinguished as so, many aspects of America were diminishing, which signifies why it was not an “Era of Good Feeling.” First, the growing tension within the economy, due to the individual states currency circulating the nation, was a failure. This event was soon called the Panic of 1819 because the issue spun out of control and led the Americans to question whether the bank was a good system or not. Furthermore, during this time period, Chief Justice John Marshall’s court continued to strengthen the federal government and its primacy, which imbalanced the federal government and state power during the early years of the Republican Party. Not to mention, in the early 1800s, slavery was becoming an increasingly sectional issue, meaning that it was dividing the nation along regional lines intensively. Indeed historians have traditionally labeled the period after the War of 1812 as the “Era of Good Feelings”, but the tension between nationalism and sectionalism increased additionally, which were inevitably conspicuous and began to impair the economy, intensify sectionalism by the means of slavery and expansion and added disunity within the government.
The presidential elections of 1860 was one of the nation’s most memorable one. The north and the south sections of country had a completely different vision of how they envision their home land. What made this worst was that their view was completely opposite of each other. The north, mostly republican supporters, want America to be free; free of slaves and free from bondages. While on the other hand, the south supporters, mostly democratic states, wanted slavery in the country, because this is what they earned their daily living and profit from.
The American Civil War was the bloodiest military conflict in American history leaving over 500 thousand dead and over 300 thousand wounded (Roark 543-543). One might ask, what caused such internal tension within the most powerful nation in the world? During the nineteenth century, America was an infant nation, but toppling the entire world with its social, political, and economic innovations. In addition, immigrants were migrating from their native land to live the American dream (Roark 405-407). Meanwhile, hundreds of thousand African slaves were being traded in the domestic slave trade throughout the American south. Separated from their family, living in inhumane conditions, and working countless hours for days straight, the issue of slavery was the core of the Civil War (Roark 493-494). The North’s growing dissent for slavery and the South’s dependence on slavery is the reason why the Civil War was an inevitable conflict. Throughout this essay we will discuss the issue of slavery, states’ rights, American expansion into western territories, economic differences and its effect on the inevitable Civil War.
Roark, J.L., Johnson, M.P., Cohen, P.C., Stage, S., Lawson, A., Hartmann, S.M. (2009). The american promise: A history of the united states (4th ed.), The New West and Free North 1840-1860, The slave south, 1820-1860, The house divided 1846-1861 (Vol. 1, pp. 279-354).
Both sides desired a republican form of government. Each wanted a political system that would “protect the equality and liberty of the individuals from aristocratic privilege and…tyrannical power.” (404) However, the north and south differed greatly in “their perceptions of what most threatened its survival.” (404) The secession by the south was an attempt to reestablish republicanism, as they no longer found a voice in the national stage. Prior to the 1850s, this conflict had been channeled through the national political system. The collapse of the two-party system gave way to “political reorganization and realignment,” wrote Holt. The voters of the Democrats shifted their influence toward state and local elections, where they felt their concerns would be addressed. This was not exclusively an economically determined factor. It displayed the exercise of agency by individual states. Holt pointed out, “[T]he emergence of a new two-party framework in the South varied from state to state according to the conditions in them.” (406) The “Deep South” was repulsed by the “old political process,” most Southerners trusted their state to be the safeguards of republicanism. (404) They saw the presidential election of Abraham Lincoln, a member of the “the anti-Southern Republican party,” as something the old system could not
The latter half of the 19th century marked a time of major changes that sweep the American landscape. Changes included: the second industrial revolution, the third great awakening, abolitionism, immigration, and new religious movements (NRMs). This time period is referred to as the “Gilded Age”; there was rapid economic growth which spurred wage increases, immigration, and technological advances.
From 1860 to 1877, the American people faced several constitutional and social issues. For example, the after-effects of the Civil War, power struggle between the state and federal government, issues with civil liberties and suffrage, the rights of free black men, and resentment of white men, have all become critical issues. These critical issues needed immediate resolutions. Therefore, resolutions were created to solve these problems and those resolutions called for new constitutional and social developments that have amount to a revolution.