Pennsylvania Abolition Society

As time goes on, slavery becomes as much of a moral issue as a political one. The American Anti-Slavery Society believed that the practice of slavery was against God's teaching and that those who kept slaves were man stealers. [Document B] Slaves should be set free and slaveholders shouldn't be compensated a dime. "...we concede the Congress...has no right to interfere with any of the slave states...But we maintain that Congress has a right...to suppress the domestic slave trade..." [Document B] As abolitionists started to make an even greater fuss over slavery, congress was backed into a corner. To release the slaves and prevent slavery in the new territories would incite the wrath of the South, however to allow more slave states to enter the Union would anger the abolitionists. Eventually, the gag rule was put into place. "All petitions, memorials, [etc.]...to the subject of slavery or the abolition of slavery, shall...be laid on the table and that no further action whatever shall be had thereon." [Document C] However, each time a

On December 18th, 1865, the 13th amendment was declared. It ended and abolished slavery. Before it was confirmed, slavery was still present in Delaware and Kentucky. This amendment gives full power to the Congress to enforce it. Still today this is in effect to prohibit slavery.

“’One section of our country believes slavery is right, and ought to be extended, while the other believes it is wrong, and ought to be restricted. That,’ he said with a touch of irony, ‘is the only substantial dispute’” (Oakes 140). People bickered whether or not Lincoln was doing the right thing by signing the Emancipation

Between 1776 and Constitutional Convention in 1787, ten out of thirteen states banned the importation of slaves from abroad. At the same time, Massachusetts already abolished slavery, Pennsylvania and Connecticut passed legislation for their former slaves. Scholars basically describe the discussion regarding slavery at the Convention as a conflict between “anti-slavery representatives” and “slave state representatives.” In addition, the word “slavery” does not appear on the Constitution because the framers consider it would sully the document. However, slavery received crucial protection in the Constitution. One of the most notorious slavery-related questions was whether slaves would be counted as a part of the population in determining representation in the United States Congress or considered property and thus, have no right to representation. Besides, delegates from states with larger population of slaves claimed that slaves should be considered persons in determining representation. Finally, delegate James Wilson proposed the Three-Fifths Compromise, which was eventually adopted by the convention. The compromise claims "all other persons" as only three-fifths of their actual numbers reduced the power of the

The north and south have been arguing over slavery since 1787 when the constitution was first signed and our government as we know it came to be. Before the westward expansion in new unexplored territory began in the United States, it was understood that the Ohio River and Mason-Dixon line would be the boundary between free and slave states. Westward expansion was a very important thing to the United States during this time. The incorporation of new states in the newer, western territory made slavery a full-frontal concern of national politics. “As the free society of the North and the slave society of the South spread westward, it seemed politically expedient to maintain a rough equality among the new states carved out of western territories,” (Alchin, Linda). Balancing the amount of slave and free states was a significant matter to both the northern and the southern political leaders. When Alabama first joined the Union in 1819, it made the political power between free and slave states completely equal, which made political leaders from both sides happy.

As Americans were moving west to fulfill the Manifest Destiny and conquering new territories, new boundaries for the Union were having to be shaped. With the northern states having officially abolished slavery since 1804, the argument over which territories would be free or not was now coming into play. The North and South have had differing opinions regarding slavery for over sixty years, but with the topic being kept out of most, if not all, political debates the dispute never seemed to come to a head. After the

The Constitution was open to wide interpretation on many issues including that of slavery. The southerners, who were mainly proponents of slavery, interpreted the Constitution to include slaves as property. They believed that as personal property slaves were allowed to be taken into the Territories of the United States as well as the slave states already existing as part of the Union. Additionally, these Constitutional property rights were interpreted by southerners to mean that “fugitive slaves” should be returned if caught because they are personal property (Document B). The interpretations of the Constitution made by many southern proponents of slavery prove the validity of the statement in question by creating an argument seen as inflammatory by northern opponents of slavery and increasing the tension that sparked the Civil

President Lincoln believed all should have an equal chance, something in which of course slavery contradicted. He made it clear that slavery was a very dangerous and disturbing element. Seemingly, Abraham Lincoln was bothered by this case according to some direct quotes from his speech."The Republicans inculcate, with whatever of

Taney goes on to say that Congress's ability to regulate slaves in the territories with the Missouri Compromise and the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 is unconstitutional. This was only the second time in history that a congressional act was overturned by the Supreme Court. They said that because Dred Scott did not have the rights to sue because he was not a citizen he was still a slave and they were not going to do anything to change it. They said that slaves were property and nothing could change that. After the decision, the north started to refuse to enforce the fugitive slave law. The free states started to go around the national government and pass their own freedom laws. The republicans at the time claimed that the decision was not binding, but at the same time the southerners tried to push the north to accept the decision or they would leave the union.

During the period before the civil war the issue of slavery began affecting American politics. Slavery was a topic that was becoming more involved in every part of the politics and moving forward as a country. Slavery became an issue in a variety of topics; creating a new state, did individual freedom won in the revolution include the right to enslave another person, should southern non-slave holders be able to vote, could a law be passed to forbid discussing a specific issue in Federal government, and finally could a State government pass a law to nullify a Federal law? These are all the key questions that American politicians had to answer without causing a civil war show how important the issue of slavery was becoming.

By the statutes being created it implies that not everyone agreed with getting rid of slavery. And a number of the whites in the south wanted to remain superior to the negros.one thing that is not mention but is still important is the fact that Abraham Lincoln is the one who fought for slavery to be abolished which he would eventually achieve.

By the early 1830s, those who wished to see slavery abolished in the United States were becoming more vocal and influential. They claimed obedience to higher law over obedience to the Constitution’s guarantee that an outlaw from one state would be

Northern delegates said that “every man was created equal” but southern delegates used biblical references that allowed slavery.

On September 22, 1862, President Lincoln declared the Emancipation Proclamation (Dudley 166). The emancipation proclamation stated that if the rebels still refused to rejoin the union and continued fighting in the civil war by January 1, 1863, the slaves in the rebellious states would be free (Dudley 168). Clement Vallandigham, a Democratic representative from Ohio, believed the emancipation Proclamation is a worthless act (Dudley 168). Mr. Vallandigham spoke his belief in the House of Representatives. He stated “You cannot abolish slavery by the sword; still less by proclamations” (Dudley 168). He expresses that slavery can not be destroyed (Dudley 168). Frederick Douglass, an escaped slave who became a famous abolitionist, firmly believed in Emancipation Proclamation (Dudley 167). Frederick Douglass had said, “Let the black man

One of the most, if not the most, controversial and heated debates following the United States independence was regarding the institution of slavery. In the introduction to his book Half Slave and Half Free, Bruce Levine quotes Carl Schurzs’ observation as the “slave question not being a mere occasional quarrel between two sections of the country divided by a geographic line, but a great struggle between two antagonistic systems of social organization (p.15)”. The Nouthern states that allowed slavery benefited from the agricultural labor that those slaves provided. The Northern states that prohibited slavery did so for moral and pragmatic reasons; they felt it was morally wrong to deny another human any form of rights, and did not like the economic advantage it gave to the Southern states. With the use of slavery largely concentrated in the South, the movement against it came from the North and was led by abolitionists; those who were committed to bringing an end to the practice. In this course we have defined “Practice” as the conduct of policy, such as opinion, election, parties and law-making (Lecture). We define Policy as the goals of politics, those being sovereignty, defense, and a collective well-being (Lecture). The following analytical essay will examine antislavery sentiment and practices in the Northern states and the reaction of Southern states. Additionally how the pressures from both sides influenced the Policy of the United States following independence then