How The War Changed Republican Ideals

At the time, the United States contained twenty-two states, evenly divided between slave and free. In the years leading up to the Missouri Compromise of 1820, tensions began to rise between proslavery and antislavery factions within the U.S. Congress and across the country. They reached a boiling point after Missouri’s 1819 request for admission to the Union as a slave state, which threatened to upset the delicate balance between slave states and free states. To keep the peace, Congress came up with a two-part compromise, granting Missouri’s request but also admitting Maine as a free state. It also passed an amendment that drew an imaginary line across the former Louisiana Territory, establishing a boundary between free and slave regions that remained the law of the land until it was repealed by the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854.

The First Party System refers to a period between 1792 and the 1820’s when the American political system was divided into two parties. Both parties, the Federalist Party, and the Democratic-Republican Party, wanted control of the Congress, the presidency, and the states. The parties were the result of the differences between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson on how to solve various national problems such as the economic crisis that was threatening the nation at the time (Dickerson, 2004). However, the roots of these political parties and concerns emerged during the constitution ratification process. On one hand, the Federalists supported the constitution while, on the other hand, the Antifederalists (Democratic-Republican) did not support it due to key issues that had not been considered in the new constitution (rAndon HersHey & Beck, 2015).

The Missouri Compromise was a temporary solution to the issue of slavery and territorial rights such as the movement West. Two areas of land wanted to become states in 1820, known as Maine and Missouri. Maine wanted to enter as a free state with no slavery as everyone in that area was against it and wanted it abolished. Missouri wanted to enter as a slave state and was all for slavery and wanted it to be spread all throughout the country. The compromise everyone came into conclusion with, was that there would be no slavery allowed north of 36° 30’ latitude. This angered the Southerners because their intention was to promote slavery not have it abolished. They realized that this compromise threatened the balance between free and slave states; Maine and Missouri. In order to expand slavery, the South felt that the United States would need territory from Mexico. The only area of land left was in Arkansas and that line became known as the Missouri Compromise line. The impact that the Missouri Compromise had on the United States was tremendous and had many effects on issues such as national politics, the institution of slavery, and the overall togetherness of the nation as a whole.

Since Missouri’s population was composed of 16 percent slaves, it would be admitted as a slave state therefore upsetting the balance in favor of the south. Northerners didn’t like this because Missouri was at the same latitude as the free states of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, and because of this they feared that it would set a precedent for slave states coming more north. The north and south continued to argue and argue over the issue of slavery. The north accused the south of trying to extend the institution of slavery and the south said that the north was conspiring to destroy the Union and end slavery. To resolve this crisis, congress passed a series of agreements that became known as the Missouri Compromise, which smoothed over the crisis. In 1820, Congress admitted Maine as a free state and Missouri as a slave state in order to balance the number of free and slave states and to keep order between the north and south. Also, it prohibited slavery in the remainder of the Louisiana Purchase north of the southern boundary of Missouri. This compromise soon fell apart after it was passed. Missouri drafted its own Constitution saying that free blacks were prohibited from entering their territory. Because of this provision, which was against the federal Constitution stating that citizens of one state were entitled to the same rights as citizens of other states, antislavery northerners

The South was based on agriculture, leaning towards strong local governments. The North was heavily influenced by Henry Clay’s American System, accompanied with large scale industrialization and cities. The most distinctive political difference between the northern and southern states was their view on slavery. The southern states found slaves a necessity in order to have a labour force to operated the cotton gins in the plantations; however, the northern states opposed the use of slaves due to their morales. This sectionalism caused a division among American citizens, affecting the government’s ability to unite the two political ideologies. To attempt to satisfy the demands of both the North and South, the Missouri Compromise of 1820 was created to resolve issues of slavery in newer western states. This compromise brought upon the 36-30 Parallel Line, a geographical line that split the North and South, depicting the contrasting political and societal views and increasing sectionalism (F). This power struggle between states and the federal government only caused unrest, resulting in no further beneficial reforms or rulings, causing the Era of Good Feelings to not hold true to its name.

Soon after the war of 1812, the Federalist Party collapsed, leaving just one political party in the U.S. for over a decade. It was not until the election of 1824 that there was an emergence of a second party system. As stated previously one party led by Andrew Jackson was the Democrats. The Democratic Party developed when Andrew Jackson was elected president. The democrats believed in helping the common man. They stayed out of state affairs, favored the working class, and were tolerant of immigrants. The Whig party which consisted of mainly prosperous people formed in opposition to the Democratic Party. They believed that the federal government should be actively involved in the economy to stimulate growth. They were also in favor of tariffs to protect infant industries and internal improvements.

The Federalists and Republicans became the first political parties in the United States in the election of 1796. The Federalists and the Republicans clashed an array of times throughout the early national period, over issues relating to the future of the United States. The Federalist Party consisted of Alexander Hamilton and his supports, and favored a commercial economy and strong central government. The Republican Party was led by Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison, they were in favor of an agrarian economy and states’ rights. The problems prevalent in the United States led to each parties supporters to take varying positions on these issues.

Between 1790 and 1840, there was a successful transfer of political power from the Federalist Party to the Republican Party. The election of 1800 marked the first time in American history where a president was elected from an opposing and entirely new party. Thomas Jefferson, the first Republican president, had Anti-Federalist ideas and an entirely different vision of America altogether. From 1801-1825, the Republican Party dominated the office and with open-minded ideas they introduced unity among Americans and brought an ending to the Federalist Party altogether. The decline of the Federalist Party after the Hartford Convention resulted in the reelection of Republican leaders and another war with Britain that led to the nation developing

In 1819, the Union existed in a precarious balance of eleven free states and eleven slave states, with western expansion threatening to upset it. Although the Northwest Ordinance did not define an explicit line of demarcation between future slave and free states, the generally lateral nature of westward expansion mitigated the need for one. However, when the territory of Missouri applied for admission to the Union as a slave state, crisis ensued. Representative James Tallmadge, Jr. incited chaos when he proposed an amendment to the bill for Missouri’s admission that would prohibit the further introduction of slaves into Missouri and mandate the gradual end of slavery. After the amendment was struck down in the senate, several northern reform groups began protesting. Former Federalists jumped on the opportunity to return to politics. Southerners were equally aggravated because, as they viewed it, slavery was a property issue, and therefore a state issue, not a federal one. Only through ‘The Great Compromiser’, Henry Clay’s uncanny ability to settle disputes, was the Missouri Compromise reached by deciding that Maine’s application for statehood would retain balance. To prevent further confusion the southern border of Missouri, the 36º30' parallel, was established as the demarcating line. The Compromise only temporarily cooled tensions between the

In 1820, the Missouri Compromise was passed that admitted Missouri as a slave state. The main goal was to have the senate and House of Representatives have a balance between slave and free states. The significance of the Missouri Compromise was it helped delay the civil war by reducing the tension with the North and the South. By splitting the states, Missouri was considered as a slave state at granted more power for the Senate compared to the free states.

Missouri Compromise was a determined attempt made by Congress to remove the sectional and political competition that was caused by the request of Missouri in the late 1819 for admission as a state in which slavery would be legal. The United States controlled twenty-two states before Missouri was a state, the twenty-two states were evenly divided between slave and free. The state Missouri as a slave state would upset the balance. It would also set a model for congressional acceptance in the growth of slavery. In 1819, when Missouri was being arranged as America’s region, representative James Tallmadge of New York had presented an amendment that would end slavery there, Tallmadge’s effort was defeated. The Missouri state was still under debate

The Missouri Compromise of 1820, was a new effort by the U.S. Senate, and House of Representatives to maintain power between the slaveholding states and states that were free. The slave holding states feared that they would become outnumbered in Congressional representation, that they would lack the power to protect their interests in power and trade.

The Missouri Compromise of 1820 The Missouri Compromise was an attempt by the U.S. government to maintain the balance of power between the slave holding states and the free states in the U.S. Congress. Although the Compromise was initially successful in preserving the peace of the Union, it was only prolonging the unavoidable conflict that would happen four decades later. In 1819, the United States of America consisted of a total of 22 states, with 11 slave-holding states, and 11 free states.

One may say that the Republican loss of the war was due to lack of funds or training, but this lack of proper organization is in-of-itself due to the ideological infighting within the Popular Front. By uniting over a common enemy, instead of a common cause, the ability of the Republicans to properly train and fund their troops and militias was logistically impossible. The Anarchists, in their devotion to their revolution, lost the trust of the other factions. The Communist, in their desire for power, crushed all resistance to their rule over the Republic. While this may have made the Popular Front more efficient administratively, the coup harmed the fighting will of the populous. The suspicion of treason was a driving force for much of the

The Missouri Compromise was act created by Henry Clay in 1820. It allowed Maine to be a free state and Missouri to be a slave state in order to keep the balance between the states and it created the 36°30° line of lattitude. This imaginary line determined that all of the states above it will be free states and all of the states below will be slave states, with the excpetion of Missouri. It was important because it was one of the first acts passed to resolve the issue of slavery.