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History IA on Slavery

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To what extent did the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 weaken political unification between the North and South through 1865?
C. Evaluation of Sources
Equal Protection and the African American Constitutional Experience (2000) is a compilation of over a hundred primary source documents. The primary sources (legislation, letters, testimony and more) were compiled, edited and analyzed by Robert P. Green, a “distinguished professor” who claims a Masters in United States History, a Bachelors in History and has taught American Educational History, Principles of American Education along with several other courses at Clemson College. Green’s purpose is to provide a volume of information for students to learn the basic facts behind pivotal events …show more content…

Particularly during this investigation, Green’s Equal Protection and the African American Constitutional Experience became the focus of the pro-social angle. Within a section specifically oriented towards the FSA, he sites legal cases such as Commonwealth v. Aves and Ableman v. Booth in which the Supreme Court enforced the FSA. He also sites Northern laws which were put into play to combat the blow of the FSA. In both legal cases, slaves were freed from their “state of captivity.” However, Green mentions that both cases had “little impact across the nation” (Green 56). From quotes such as these, it seems Green tends to write in a way that belittles the occasions when African Americans win small cases for freedom. The Northern law Green sites was Ohio law of 1854 stating that kidnapping “in the black community” was illegal (Green 85). Although not directly, Green states that this was advancement towards equal and legal recognition of African Americans. Each of his sources concerning African American equality are legal documents and show little opinion, however his interpretations of the documents are very reserved in any celebration or commendation for legal recognition of Blacks.
Free At Last by Berlin, Fields, Miller, Reidy and Rowland takes the pro-military approach to the growing political gap.

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