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The civil war grand bargain between the north and south
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The Compromise of 1877 was an agreement made among the Democrats and Republicans in the House of Representatives that resolved the Election of 1876 between Democrat Samuel Tilden and Republican Rutherford B. Hayes. As a result of the deal between the two parties, the Democrats agreed to support Rutherford B. Hayes in becoming President of the United States in exchange for the withdrawal of federal troops in the South.
There are two mind paths to choose when considering the statement that the compromises of the 1800s were not really compromises, but sectional sellouts by the North, that continually gave in to the South's wishes. The first is that the compromises really were compromises, and the second is that the compromises were modes of the North selling out. Really, there is only one correct mind path of these two, and that is that the North sold out during these compromises and gave the South what it wanted for minimal returns. The three main compromises of the 19th century, the compromises of 1820 (Missouri) and 1850 and the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 each were ways for the south to gain more power so that eventually, it could secede.
The years between 1825-1850 were the years of the Jacksonian Democracy. During this time democratic ideals were expanded through equal rights movements and educational and religious reforms. The main goal of this era was to make society a better place for everyone. To better society there had to be change, change for more equality and freedom.
McConnell, Eleanor H. "Compromise of 1850." In Rohrbough, Malcolm J., and Gary B. Nash, eds. Encyclopedia of American History: Expansion and Reform, 1813 to 1855, Revised Edition (Volume IV). New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2010. American History Online. Facts On File, (December 14, 2013).
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.
Crisis struck in 1820, when the North/South balance in the Senate was threatened by the application of Missouri to join the Union as a slave state. Southerners, aware of their numerical inferiority in the House of Representatives, were keen to maintain their political sway, in the Senate. The North feared that if Southerners were to take control of the Senate, political deadlock would ensue. Compromise was found in 1820 when Maine applied to join as a free state, maintaining the balance.
I had learned lots of new things this year and especially this semester in U.S. History Since 1877. This history course required all students to complete twenty hours of service learning or to write a term paper. After considering the two options, I decided to give the service learning a chance because I thought it would be an interesting experience. There were a variety of projects to choose from, but I felt that the Sustainability Project was the right fit for me.
“The United States emerged from a virulent, intense, and inhumane civil war and evolved into a new nation during this period. This transition was the culmination of political, economic, social, and cultural movements which transformed the nation. E Pluribus Unum - out of many United States, one nation; the United States was forged in the cauldron of these revolutions." -Arnold Toynbee, A Study of History
For quite some time Americans have been led to believe that during the 1820s and 30s, Jacksonian Democrats were the guardians of the people, and worked to improve the nation for the people. The truth remains, however, that during this period, President Jackson vetoed a bill to recharter the Bank of the United States of America, infringed on the rights of Native Americans, used “brute” force to bring Southerners under submission during the Tariff of 1832. He enacted the Spoils System which did not guarantee the best leadership, and was morally corrupt. Although the nation’s economy and political democracy flourished during the reign of President Jackson, constitutional rights, equal opportunity and individual liberties were discouraged.
The Compromise of 1850 and Kansas-Nebraska Acts were very advantageous to the South. In both pieces of legislation the south gained things that would aid them in their campaign to expand slavery. The advantages the south included a stronger fugitive slave law, the possibility for slavery to exist in the remaining part of the Mexican Cession, the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, and the eventual plan to build the Southern Pacific Railroad.
A compromise is when two or more parties in disagreement reach an agreement that does not give all sides exactly what they want, but enough of what they want so that they can be happy. Compromise is the best possible solution to a conflict however it does not always work. One needs only to look at situations such as the Bosnia-Herzegovina to see that. During the events prior to the American Civil War, many different compromises were made in an attempt to impede the growing disagreements. However this merely prolonged the inevitable. The differences between North and South were far to great and compromise did not stand a chance at preventing the impending conflict. This was most clearly shown in the ways in which the three main compromises, the Missouri Compromise, the Compromise of 1850 and the Kansas-Nebraska Act, failed.
In a time of quarreling over concerns in politics, a productive way to end a conflict was to just create a compromise. However, by the year 1860, those sectional tensions were too strong for any sort of settlements to occur. Some compromises, such as the Missouri Compromise, and the Clay's Compromise Tariff was effective in the first place, but eventually failed. Two compromises, the Kansas-Nebraska Act, and the Compromise of 1850 immediately ended in failure.
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.
When the next election for president came in the year eighteen seventy-six, the nation was plunged into more political conflict in the Electoral college, which needed to be compromised on to determine who the nation’s next president would be. Rutherford B. Hayes, the Republican candidate, was running against Samuel Tilden, the Democratic candidate, but the election needed a compromise. The Democrats agreed that, with a few promised concessions, they would give their remaining electoral votes to Rutherford Hayes, letting the Republicans win, and making Hayes the new president of the United States. The Compromise of eighteen seventy-seven had a negative political, social, and economic impact on the reconstruction era foundation in the south,
The Missouri Compromise had an interesting political action, It depicted the norths disagreement towards slavery was more of a political issue rather than a moral argument. In the early 19th century , the north was populated with abolitionists and radicals, those who believes in abolition. Their main aim was not to stop slavery because it was inhumane, but the fact that white people were becoming unemployed and the south were becoming more powerful.
The compromise of 1850 was very similar to the Missouri compromise of 1820 in that they both succeeded in bringing together the North and the South. In the early 18th century, there was division in America as result of slavery. At that particular point, the North and South were already in tension due to issue of slavery. Slavery was not widely spread in the North however, businessmen enriched themselves through slave trade in the south. Both Missouri Compromise and Compromise of 1850 both aimed at restoring peace between the North and South slave sated and between the Free and the Slave states.