Compromise Of 1877 Dbq Essay

As tensions between the North and the South rose on the issues of slavery and states’ rights, numerous compromises were proposed to ease the conflict. Such compromises included the Missouri Compromise, the Compromise of 1850, and the Crittenden Compromise. These compromises had intentions of defining where slavery was permitted and clarifying states’ rights. They were only temporary fixes to a more pressing issue. Between the Missouri Compromise and the Crittenden Compromise, a series of events changed the political atmosphere of the United States and prevented any more compromises on the institution of slavery from being passed.

The Compromise of 1850 brought relative calm to the nation. Though most blacks and abolitionists strongly opposed the Compromise, the majority of Americans embraced it, believing that it offered a final, workable solution to the slavery question. Most importantly, it saved the Union from the terrible split that many had feared. People were all too ready to leave the slavery controversy behind them and move on. But the feeling of relief that spread throughout the country would prove to be the calm before the storm.

The compromise of 1850 was a settlement on a series of issues plaguing the unity of the states. The primary issue to address was the institution of slavery, which was causing much dissension between the north and the south. Additional items to be addressed were territory issues and to prevent secession by the south. Henry Clay stepped forward to present a compromise, which had Congress in an eight-month discussion known as the “Great Debate”. As a result of the proposal, there were strong oppositions. One outspoken person who opposed the proposal was John C Calhoun. Calhoun was an intellectual southern politician, political philosopher and a proponent to the protection of Southern interests. He was an advocate for states’ rights and

The Compromise of 1877 was a very effective time period in history. Its main focus was to rebuild the South physically and as a nation. It was the compromise of the Reconstruction Era and the U.S. presidential election of 1876. Problems now went from the battlefields to politics. After the Civil War over, 3.9 million slaves were freed and given rights. This then created tensions between black and whites. The presidential election was another conflict that was resolved. Democrats and Republicans had many different opinions when it came to them being a bipartisan government, which created some tensions. Nevertheless, the Compromise of 1877 was the a compromise of the Reconstruction Era and the U.S. presidential election of 1876.

When blacks were given the right to vote, it was only somewhat successful. Many blacks did use their new political power to vote as it is shown in Harper's Weekly (Document G), but whites still tried to stop them. Literacy tests, grandfather clauses, and fear caused by the Ku Klux Klan were used to keep blacks from exercising their right to vote. Another issue of reconstruction was the banking and currency system. In an attempt to uniform the currency, Senator John Sherman gave a speech saying that with "a currency and a medium of exchange, we shall have a broader and more generous nationality" (Document B). At the time many states had their own currency and a change needed to be made to unite the states. A sense of nationality was needed as the nation was in turmoil after the attempted secession of the South. Reconstruction came to an end in 1877 with the Compromise of 1877. Rutherford Hayes became president for agreeing to end federal support for Southern Republicans and building a transcontinental railroad. In this compromise he also withdrew troops from the South. This, along with the rejection of laws protecting blacks from discrimination, brought reconstruction to an end in 1877.

This nullified the Missouri Compromise, which pleased the South since there was a possibility that slavery could expand. This intensified conflict between the North and the South and angered Democrats, Whigs, and Free-Soilers (Davidson pp 393). (http://library.thinkquest.org/J0112391/kansas-nebraska_act.htm) With the election of anti-slavery President Abraham Lincoln, the South became paranoid that the North planned to change their way of life, which led many of the Southern states to secede from the Union. (http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/civil-war-overview/statesrights.html) Lincoln wouldn’t tolerate secession and offered to “pardon” to the majority of Southerners with their return to the Union and conformity to the Emancipation Proclamation. Southern blacks were given educational and voting rights and opportunities for educational and economical advancement; the Southern elites then enforced the use of “paramilitary tactics”. Racism was also a factor in the North, which led Northerners to espouse some Southern viewpoint in regards to egalitarianism. This was the end of the Reconstruction Era and allowed the South to “turn the tables” on the North. Democrats were able to regain control of the Legislative and Judicial branches of government. (http://history.ncsu.edu/projects/cwnc/exhibits/show/second-redemption/redemption-1877)

The measures, a trade off planned by Whig Senator Henry Clay, who neglected to get them through himself, were shepherded to entry by Democratic Senator Stephen Douglas and Whig Senator Daniel Webster. The measures were contradicted by Senator and previous Vice-President John C. Calhoun. The Compromise was conceivable after the demise of President Zachary Taylor, who was in resistance. Succeeding him was an in number supporter of the trade off: Millard Fillmore. It briefly defused sectional strains in the United States, deferring the withdrawal emergency and the American Civil War. The Compromise dropped the Wilmot Proviso, which never got to be law however would have banned subjugation in domain gained from Mexico. Rather the Compromise further embraced the regulation of "Mainstream Sovereignty" for the Territory of New Mexico and the Territory of Utah. The different bargains reduced political controversy for a long time, until the relative respite was broken by the divisive Kansas-Nebraska Act. Basically it was a progression of bills set out to keep the country united. Despite the fact that it postponed progression, it is seen as just a makeshift fix..

The Compromise of 1850 was a desperate attempt to keep the southern states from seceding from the United States of America. While the goal was to keep the south from seceding, the new laws actually created more tension than it solved. Since the division in America over slave ownership had been holding a delicate balance with the states on both sides, the North and the South. When California petitioned to join the Union in 1849 as a free state, that delicate balance tipped and the conflict once again erupted. The Compromise consisted of 5 laws, admitting California as a free state, creating Utah and New Mexico territories with the question of slavery in each is determined by popular sovereignty, settling a Texas-New Mexico boundary dispute in the former’s favor, ending the slave trade in Washington D.C. and making it easier for southerners to recover fugitive slaves (History).

Due to the gradual elimination of African-American rights and the withdrawal of Federal troops from the South to enforce such rights, the end of Reconstruction surfaced in 1877. In the eyes of blacks, Reconstruction was a point in history where they could see their civil rights expanding before their very own eyes. On the contrary, whites were deeply disturbed at the way their once “white supremacy” government was dwindling in the rear-view mirror behind them. This fourteen year period known as Reconstruction houses the memories of temporary freedom, scandal, backdoor deals, and the unresolved social, political, and economical issues of our country.

During the years of 1864 through 1877, a multitude of changes were placed into action in order to improve society. While the reforms correlated to one another in the long run, they are easily divisible into general categories: Political, Economic, and Social. . The political reforms dealt with the ideals of the government, social movements focused in on the beliefs of the people, and economic developments concentrated mainly on monetary aspects of the country, including changes to the economy and international trade. After enduring many complications and multiple presidents , the Compromise of 1877 was formed. After this compromise was composed, many of the reforms that were achieved simply could no longer thrive and survive.

In 1860 the compromise broke down because the Southerners had enough of the northerners attacking just because of slavery. Southerners felt like they had a right to do whatever they wanted with their properties. Abraham Lincoln gave a speech on June 16, 1858 in springfield Illinois .When Lincoln was elected they knew that the war will end and the slaves will be free.

Since the constitution was built on the idea of freedom and individual liberty, the expansion with slave states brought up debate. It wasn't necessarily the slavery itself “it was the question of that institution’s expansion, to the newly acquired territories which were continually added to the ever-growing republic”. During the expansion, there were attempts in policies to try to limit the expansion of slavery as it caused so much instability, e.g. the Wilmot Proviso (1846) even when it wasn’t passed by the Senate. The cartoon named ‘Whig Harmony’, shows the division between the Whig ranks and indicates how important the validity of the proviso was in the 1846 campaign. John O'Sullivan stated in 1839 on the Manifest Destiny “we are the nation of progress, of individual freedom, of universal

The Compromise of 1850 became difficult and dangerous to implement as a result of the Northerners’ violence and clear disobedience to the federal law. Such widespread assistance to fugitive slaves caused Southerners to lose faith in the Compromise or uphold it. Clay’s resolutions of this compromise didn’t play out fairly on both sides, as the law wasn't obeyed by Northerners. However, although the compromise was followed by conflict, it wasn't enough to make war certain. For example, the compromise did have positive outcomes such as allowing the country to expand by accepting California as a state.

This brings us to the the Compromise of 1877. This let Hayes have the presidency and in return the southern states had control over their governments along with some vague promises including a southern transcontinental

African-Americans may sometimes wonder at the contradictory facts about their history presented in many standard history texts. These texts state that blacks were given the right to vote in 1870, yet the same texts will acknowledge that this right did not really exist for African-Americans until the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.