The Pros And Cons Of Slavery

Sectional differences between the North and the South have caused the two regions to disagree on multiple issues since the establishment of the United States. The North’s economy was primarily based on industry, while the South’s economy was primarily based on agriculture, which greatly changed the two section’s desire and need for slaves. When the United States began annexing new territory, disputes over the expansion of slavery became prominent. In the Missouri Compromise of 1820, Missouri was added to the Union as a slave state while Maine was added as a free state in order to maintain the balance between slave and free states, and slavery was prevented from extending above the 36th parallel line. In order to follow the guidelines of the Missouri Compromise, Southerners looked westward in order to expand slavery. Southerners supported the extension of slavery into western territories because it allowed them to use free labor to harvest cotton and other crops, and the addition of new slave states would strengthen the South in the House of Representatives, because more states would vote for policies that favored slaveholders. Northerners were against the expansion of slavery into Western territories because they believed slave labor undermined free white labor and took away job opportunities, and would disrupt the balance between free and slave states. Controversy over the expansion of slavery into western territories between the years of 1845-1861 contributed to the

Growing up in the rural south not having the same options of the upper class left me working on the plantations. Roaming around to find to work to support myself I occasionally found work during the harvesting seasons. My father lost our families land and the little comfort we had a decade earlier. The struggle to provide for myself led me to the ditches and mining. These jobs were more dangerous than working in the fields on the farm. Before the nomadic life of running all over the South finding odd jobs I worked near the slaves. My life was rough not having anything to go back to, but they had it far worse. In a way it’s selfish for me to complain about the way I’m living when it’s harder to survive enslavement. Working beside the sick and bruised people it is

One of the biggest divisions between the north and south was slavery. The south needed slaves to tend to crops such as cotton, which became a major part of the south’s economy after the invention of the cotton gin. The north, meanwhile, gained an increasingly large number of abolitionists opposing slavery. The abolitionists believed that slavery was immoral and were influenced by former slaves like Frederick Douglass, as well as through literature, including Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Although the divisions over slavery would not end until later on agreements like the Missouri Compromise of 1820 reduced tensions by preventing any new states above the 36 30’ parallel from joining the union as a slave state.

The Missouri Compromise was in 1820 then the South seceded forty years later in 1860. Many Americans agreed that the issue of slavery could and would lead to a civil war, even Adams who said “If the Union must be dissolved, slavery is precisely the question upon which is ought to break.”(Doc 4) and Pinckney said “The may be the division

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

Slavery is the act of owning a person, making them the legal property of another and forced to obey the defined owner. It was the dominant form of labor in the country of the United States between 1815-1861. This was a country that stood for liberty and freedom, and the way they operated was based off of controlling and forcing others to complete tasks. James Madison, James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, and Andrew Jackson were President during this time span, and each had different views and morals when it came to slavery. James Madison, the first of the four to run his term, was a key contributor to the Bill of Rights. He believed in human rights especially rights to liberty and property. In an article written to address Madison and other’s views and inputs in the bill, it states “They[George Mason, James Madison, and Thomas Jefferson] were men for whom ‘possessing property’ was a natural and an inherited right. And a substantial portion of the property that each owned was slaves”(Roger Wilkins). James Madison wrote in the Bill of Rights each man’s individual liberties and freedoms, and still goes on and with his rights, such as that to own property, he owns other men. James Madison was not someone known to be against slavery, however, he was not a supporter, he merely believed he had the right to property, and with the knowledge that slaves were property he gave himself the right to own slaves.

The south began to rely on agriculture as their basis of economic growth. For this to be success, slavery was an almost a natural need for the people of the south. Cotton began to grow as a cash crop for the South. Cotton was dependent on many workers needed for it to exist, thus the need for such a large amount of work force. Slavery in the late 1700’s was beginning to die down and cotton was paying the biggest price for it. Not until Eli Whitney’s invention of the cotton gin did the issue of slavery spark up again and cotton begins to thrive. In 1820 Missouri wished to be part of the Union as a slave state. With there already being an equality of Slave states and Free states it caused tension and sectionalism within the country; because of the edition of Missouri would cause an unbalance of free and slave states. In hopes to resolve this conflict a compromise was reached known as the Missouri Compromise. Through the Missouri Compromise Missouri was able to enter as a slave state, while Maine was able to enter as a free state. However, as pointed out, it created a line between slave states and Free states. Any state below Missouri was able to practice slavery, and any state above was to be a Free State. Even John Quincy Adams led to the sectionalism, with his supportive views of the Compromise. (Document F) He expressed views in the emancipation of slavery as a

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.

Calhoun stated, “Never before has the black race of Central Africa, from the dawn of history to the present day,attained a condition so civilized and so improved,”.John C. Calhoun a defender of slavery says this making it as though slavery was good for themselves but also good for the impact on the slaves or African Americans.Second, in Slavery a Positive good William Joseph Harper says that slavery stops the evils of civilization as douglass says it is the evil, as Harper exclaims, “anticipates the benefits of civilization and retards the evils of civilization.” This exhibits that in the pro-slavery argument they think as slavery a good and not an evil while Douglass clearly thinks badly of slavery as he was one of the leading abolitionists.Third and last of all, in the Slavery a Positive Good James Henry Hammond says the laws of slavery is peaceful and dulcet.Like he states, “ abolition was a threat to the peaceful and harmonious implementation of necessary social laws.”This ratifies that as defenders thought that these laws were right for peace Douglass states multiple times how slavery is tearing families apart from each other and their homes and how they are treated worse then

Following the Louisiana Purchase, Congress wanted to create a policy to guide the expansion of slavery into the new western territory. Missouri’s application for statehood as a slave state sparked bitter debate. Pro-slavery legislators from Missouri would give the pro-slavery faction a congressional majority. They compromised by agreeing that Missouri would be a slave state, but Maine would be admitted as a free state. This is one of the many different conflicts that happened between the North and the South. The North wanted to abolish slavery, while the South depended on slavery. This many arguments caused disunity between the two and eventually lead to the Civil

Throughout the American History, Americans had constantly settled on agreements on how slavery should be treated. In the early 19th century, the government had settled on compromises like the compromise of 1850 and the Missouri compromise. Which gave out a fair equivalence of opportunities and downgrades for each side, but by 1860 this had no longer seemed possible for each side, they constantly had conflicts that the South decided to separate. The reasons on which they decided to seperate were due to the country having different ideology views on slavery, to the government not taking action, and verbal/physical conflict.

The Missouri Compromise of 1820 was made for compromise and it created a geographical line that divided slave states from non-slaveholding states. The Missouri Compromise prohibited slavery in all remaining territories above the 36’30’ parallel and allowed slavery below the line. (Pg. 16). This division of the states still brought disruption between the Union and the Confederacy and by allowing this “compromise” not only brought the states farther apart but the birth of the Abolition Movement and concerns from both sides became public. “Southern complaints struck a sympathetic chord with conservative northerners,” May adds, “who worried abolitionist provocations would estrange slaveholders from the Union, causing its dissolution.”

In conclusion, the “positive good” argument was nothing short of a means for whites of all classes on both sides of the Mason-Dixie line to ease their own guilt over the institution of slavery. It is human nature to put a positive spin on something we benefit from. Wars have been waged under the precipice of uniting territories, bringing order, divine right, and alike while the true motivations have been wealth, power and glory. The south was no different from the empires of the past in that

In 1820, Congress passed the Missouri Compromise into law which not only banned slavery in the former Louisiana Territory north of the 36°30' latitude line but admitted Missouri into the Union as a slave state and Maine as a free one. This shows how much Northerners and Southerners were divided over the issue of slavery in the western territories considering a law had to be implemented merely for Missouri to receive statehood. The reason why this was such a huge deal was because the North didn’t want there to be more slave states than free states since that would mean the South would possess more representation in Congress and thus more control over legislation. Even though the slavery issue seemed to be resolved by this compromise, tensions between the North and South regarding this practice came about once more under the presidency of James K. Polk. He was president during the Mexican-American War, a conflict which arose after the annexation of Texas that resulted in the United States acquiring the Mexican Cession under the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo (1848). Sectionalism was present in the nation again considering the North and the South were at each other’s throats because the two couldn’t agree on whether to allow slavery in the lands the country received from Mexico. After the Wilmot Proviso failed which was an attempt to ban

During the years leading up to the civil war, the issue of slavery was the main focus of most politicians. The people in the North were anti-slavery and wanted slavery to be gone forever. The people in the South, some who owned slaves, thought that slavery was a okay and that it should be legal. One of the first laws passed that had to do with slavery was the Missouri Compromise in 1820. In early 1819, Missouri applied to become a state of the union. At this time, there were 11 states that allowed slavery and 11 that did not. This balance was crucial because it meant that there was equal representation in congress for both sides. But Missouri would become a slave state, tipping the balance in favor of the South. To address