HIS104 Week Assignment

Running head: LIBERTY CHALLENGED IN NINETEENTH CENTURY AMERICA 1

Assignment 2.1: Liberty Challenged in Nineteenth Century America Thesis and Outline

Tristanjay V. Llantada

Strayer University

February 19, 2017

Part I: Thesis statement.

Thesis statement

The peculiar institution of slavery was a recipe for the American Civil War and contributed to several issues being faced by the minority groups in the United States. We must dispute the notion that the South and North fought the war based on slavery as a moral issue.

Part II: Outline

Three-Fifths Compromise was reached between delegates from the northern states and those from southern states during the 1787 American Constitutional Convention. The following outcomes came from the compromise:

1. Direct taxes and Representatives was to be apportioned among the many states that would be included within the Union.

2. Led to a disproportionate representation of slave states in the United States House of Representatives in relation to voters in Free states until the US Civil War.

Missouri Compromise of 1820

Missouri Compromise came up as a way of keeping the balance of power between the free states and the slave states. Major outcomes include:

1. The Compromise added one Free State and one Slave State to the Union.

2. Louisiana territory was divided into a slave region and a free region.

Compromise of 1850

The issues of slavery was the major cause of the Compromise of 1850. The outcomes of the compromise included:

1. Led to the amendment of the Fugitive Slave Act.

2. Settling the boundary conflict between Texas and New Mexico led to the establishment of territorial government in New Mexico.

Kansas-Nebraska Act

The act was passed in the Congress of the United States in 1854. It served to repeal sections of the Missouri Compromise of 1820 (Brinkley, 2015). Some of the outcomes include:

1. Allowed the people in territories of Nebraska and Kansas to decide for themselves whether slavery would be allowed within their borders or not.

2. Led to violence between anti-slavery forces and the pro-slavery forces.

Dred Scott Decision

The decision reached in 1857 created more tension surrounding the issues of slave trade and slavery in the United States, where the Supreme Court determined that Scott would still be a slave (Brinkley, 2015). Other major outcomes include:

1. The decision drew a clearly marked line on the standing of the government on the issue of slavery.

2. The decision inflamed passions and tension on slavery, which had been a divisive issue in American politics.

Reasons why slavery was and is incompatible with the political and economic system.

Slavery did not make sense in the country’s political and economic system. The reasons why slavery was and is incompatible with the economic and political system in the country included: Firstly, in several ways, slavery was a hindrance to the development of Southern Capitalism. The south was not seeking profits from the slave trade and hence it was incompatible with the economic system and the politics of America (Randall, & Donald, 2016). Secondly, slavery created differences and tension between the Northern and Southern States, tension which eventually led to the break of the union and ultimately into violence. Thirdly, slavery contributed to racial segregation between witnessed in the modern American society, despite the several fights that have been put in place to avoid it.

Driving forces that led to the Civil War.

The Southern and Northern regions of the United States were developed along different lines. The North was more industrialized while the South was predominantly an agrarian economy. The tension between these two states led to the Civil War which is important in the history of the United States (Hummel, 2013). Firstly, slavery was the major driving force to the war. The future of slavery led to the disruption of the union. Secondly, the Dred Scott Decision sparked tension that would later led to recession and differences between the Southern and Northern States. Thirdly, states’ rights was a major contributor to the secession which ultimately caused the Civil War.

References

Brinkley, A. (2015). The Unfinished Nation: A Concise History of the American People, Volume I (Vol. 11, p. 7271). McGraw-Hill.

Hummel, J. (2013). Emancipating slaves, enslaving free men: a history of the American civil war. Open court.

Randall, J. G., & Donald, D. (2016). The Civil War and Reconstruction. Pickle Partners Publishing.