How Compromises Failed to Prevent the Civil War

During the period of 1820-1861 the north and south debated on issues that dealt with slavery and unbalance power, in order to reduce sectional tension between these two states, the Missouri Compromise, Compromise of 1850, and the Kansas-Nebraska Act were proposed.

John Brown’s beliefs about slavery and activities to destroy it hardly represented the mainstream of northern society in the years leading up to the Civil War. This rather unique man, however, took a leading role in propelling the nation toward secession and conflict. Many events influenced Brown’s views on slavery from an early age. When he was older, his strong anti-slavery feelings had grown, and he became an extreme abolitionist. His raid on Harpers Ferry was one of the first monumental events leading up to the civil war.

G). This turned out to be an important issue to the Republican Party, as they included not only the abolishing of slavery in the nation in their party platform in 1864, but also saying that all men in their army deserved equality, no matter what their race was (Doc. D).

The compromise of 1850 was a quick effort to reduce the tension that lived between the north and the south. When vice president Fillmore saw the compromise he liked it enough to sign off on it and after it passed Congress over a seven month debate it was established in America. Although the compromise was effective it didn’t really resolve the slavery issue as a majority in the north still believe slavery should be abolished in the south was pro – slavery.

John Brown’s beliefs about slavery and activities to destroy it hardly represented the mainstream of northern society in the years leading up to the Civil War. This rather unique man, however, has become central to an understanding and in some cases misunderstandings about the origins of the Civil War. The importance of Brown’s mission against slavery was colossal to accelerating the civil war between the North and the South. His raid on Harpers Ferry in1859 divided the United States like nothing else before, and could have been the main event leading to the Civil War.

Southerners were basically farmers who made their living of agriculture, architecture, so they needed to tend the land they owned. To be able to maintain their crops they needed labor as well as slaves. If slaves were banned in the south the southern economy would drop because the lack of labor and the trade market of slaves would drop as well. Slavery existed for primary labor. Southerners claimed that the federal government was not allowed to stop them from having slavery; the issue of slavery became one of the main issues, because it was the most certain issue of the time. The slavery issue came to the front of laws later, and many in the south were discussing the possibility of freeing the slaves on their own. The north, which was controlled by radical republicans, was pushing for the abolition of slavery. Northerners aided the escape of runaway slaves, which was a constitutional violation that made a fugitive from one state a fugitive of every state. Slavery in the beginning existed in every state, and the writers of the Constitution avoided addressing the issue of conserving or ending slavery in order to obtain ratification from all states. When Americans acclaimed victory in the Mexican War, which resulted in the US expanding its territory from Texas all the way to the Pacific Ocean, the question of whether or not to permit slavery in the new territories was later issued. The

The American Civil War began in 1861 and lasted until 1865. It was fought for a number of reasons and was a battle between the Union and the Confederate armies. The Civil War was an irrepressible event that occurred due to a series of occasions that pushed the North and the South away from each other such as the Kansas-Nebraska Act, the growth of the Abolitionist movement, the election of president Abraham Lincoln and The Dred Scott v. Sandford case.

They believed with the industrialization system growing, it created a new positive capitalist. Thus, in free labor, and education would result in a thriving success for a modern society. The Northerners opposed to the expansion of slavery, some wanting slavery abolished. The North had a huge industry and its manufacturing business was developing fast. (http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/uhic/ReferenceDetailsPage/ReferenceDetailsWindow?) The transportation system expanded and canals and railroads were built. The population increased and the cities

There were many political debates at the beginning of the 1800s on what states should allow slaves and what states should not. The Missouri Compromise was the beginning of an argument between the north and south which ultimately led to the civil war. The objective of the compromise was to have a balance between the states by which Maine was introduced as a slave free state and Missouri as a pro-slave state. Although the Missouri compromise was deemed unconstitutional, it had the greatest impact to begin the civil war.

The issue with compromise is that it must give each party the sense they have won something or at least not suffer a total loss. Why then, did the Compromises of 1820 and 1850 not prevent the Civil War? Because neither set of laws directly addressed the right to own slaves. A country cannot have two sets of laws for two different regions. As we have seen with segregation and gay rights, deferring to states’ laws only works to delay addressing the issue at hand. While no one can say the Civil War was solely caused by the divisive issue of slavery, it is safe to say the North and South were polarized. The Civil War had to happen to force the country to stop compromising and declare a winner and a single set of rules to live by.

The missour compromise, north wanted the state to be free of slaves while south wanted it to be involved with slavery. Now in the end, it was decided that Maine was to be the free state and Missouri was given the ok to adopt a constitution having no restrictions on slavery. This compromise was the foundation of conflict for the north and south regarding slavery. The kansas-nebraska allowed each territory to make the decision on the issue of slavery. This compromie violated the first compromise, missouri. Because of this violence begin in many parts of America, and later became better known as the civil war. Third compromise was the nullification, power to nullify, or invalidate any federal law in which the state thinks it is unconstiutional.

The Republican party’s main objective was to stop slavery from spreading into the western territories, but the Anti-Slavery Society was much more strict, declaring that, “...[T]he slaves ought instantly to be set free…”(Document C). This made the South feel alienated from the North, and the Federal Government worked quickly to try and fix this, creating the Compromise of 1850. The Compromise of 1850 was made of five bills, but one specifically outraged the North: the Fugitive Slave Acts of 1850, which allowed government officials to detain and person convicted of being a runaway slave, even if they had lived with their friends for years and were clearly not runaway slaves. Many Northerners created bands against the laws and actively worked to disobey the Slave Acts, which made the South infuriated since the North had agreed to the Compromise. At this point, people began creating ideas about secession, as Senator Daniel Webster said in his speech to Congress in March, 1850: “I hear with pain and anguish the word ‘secession,’ especially when it falls from the lips of those who are… patriotic”(Document C). After these years, the election of 1860 was just around the corner, and this election would show just how divided the cultures of America

Although one should compromise when they can, that option should not always be entertained. In various cases, the immediate inclination to settle with the opposition has led to cataclysmic consequences. Furthermore, that scenario has played out in numerous occasions in history, one notable instance being the compromises on the subject of slavery from the United States which resulted in the outbreak of the American Civil War. While numerous individuals at this time, especially politicians, accepted the compromises as a solution to war, some men such as William Lloyd Garrison, refused to believe in any reasonable compromise in the subject matter. In addition, the controversy of compromise occurs in the 21st century, although it has proven

The Union side believed that it was wrong to own people, they believed that everyone should be free. Hiram Ulysses Grant helped lead the Republicans in their effort to remove the vestiges of Confederate nationalism and slavery, protect African American citizenship, and support economic prosperity. "I propose to fight it out on this line if it takes all summer.” he believed that what the Confederates were doing was wrong and he decided that he should run for president soon after fighting in the Civil War. What the Unions planned to do to stop the Confederates was one, Fully blockade all Southern coasts, this would eliminate the possibility of Confederate help from abroad. Two, Control the Mississippi River. Three, capture Richmond, without their capital the confederates command line

Before the civil war, Republicans of America survived various crises in politics. Many political issues were brought up regarding things such as tariffs, national banks, etc. (Garry Gallagher). The civil war could have been seen as a aim for independence as it involved the alter of political