DBQ on Sectionalism Essay

During the period of 1850-1861, America was struggling to stick by united as debates everyplace several major issues started to take the forefront. afterward the war with Mexico ended in 1848, America gained the territories of Texas, New Mexico, and atomic number 20 by dint of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Soon after, disputes over whether these recounts should be free democracys or striver resigns erupted. By 1850, a solution was found in the agree of 1850 where California would become a free state, and New Mexico and Texas would have favourite reign, chuck up the spongeing them to find out for themselves whether they would be slave states or not. The laugher hard worker operation was similarly written in 1850 in an effort to satisfy southern slave knowledgeers by requiring northerners to return any runa look slaves back to their owners in the southeasterly. The conclave of the Compromise of 1850 and The Fugitive Slave Act, along with debates over the typogr aphy and popular sovereignty, started to imp subroutine the unity of the nation and potenti onlyy split the North and southwestern correct more.The actions of the government during the period of 1850-1861 contributed to the deteriorating conditions of America, particularly in the Constitution and the Fugitive Slave Act. In 1852, William Lloyd Garrison expressed the idea that the Constitution influenced bondage in America despite the fact that nothing about thraldom was directly mentioned. He feels that a government in stake of thralldom is corrupt and cannot be trusted and that the people need to overthrow it. The Constitutions inability to stop slavery leads to division among the people who support slavery and the people who do not. In this way, the government played a part in the weakening of the Union (Doc. E). The Fugitive Slave Act, a part of the Compromise of 1850, helped intensify tension ming guide with the pro-slavery South and anti-slavery North. In Boston, freed slaves had to be warned to avoid any interaction with watchmen and police in Boston, who forthwith had the ability to send them back into slavery.The Fugitive Slave Act besides shared the North and South because it compel the anti-slavery North to go against its beliefs and withdraw itself in the institution of slavery instead of preventing it (Doc. C). Ralph Waldo Emerson further describes the immortality of the Fugitive Slave Act by comparing the governments varying disciplines on the institution. In 1807, Congress had banned the importation of slaves into America, but by 1850, they promote the capturing of freed slaves in the North and sending them back into servitude. This contradiction adds to division because it proved to northerners that the government would bend to the Souths desire to keep slavery. Emerson viewed this act as immoral and felt that if the government implemented it, the Union would directly fall apart. In a way, Emersons view was not wrong, as the Fugitive Slave Act did contribute to increasing division amidst the North and South over slavery (Doc. D).Another issue that led to the crumbling of the Union was the debate over popular sovereignty. Popular sovereignty incorporated the idea that the new states coming into the Union should be allowed to decide for themselves whether they would allow slavery or not. This belief is rooted in the Compromise of 1850, which was basically an effort to maintain the balance between the slave states in the South and the free states in the North. A map depicting the Compromise of 1850 shows the slave states in the South, the free states in the North, and the new territories that could be swayed either way. The effort the possibility of popular sovereignty in these territories caused controversy was because whatever way they went, they could potentially upset the balance between the North and South, which could lead to sincere conflict over slavery (Doc. A). president Jefferson Davis furth er explains the debate over popular sovereignty in terms of the Constitution. Although the Constitution does address state power through amendments, it was unavailing to prevent opinions regarding a lack of state sovereignty from developing in the North. This proves that the Constitution was becoming weak and unable to meet the conditions of that time period. Also, the states be beginning to feel entitled to their rights and be forgetting that the Union existed based on a combination of the states (Doc. H). The Kansas and Nebraska Act of 1854 created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska and gave the settlers of that land the right to decide whether they would be slave states or not.This act increase tensions around slavery amongst the settlers and thus led to military unit because some settlers were advocates of slavery and then others were against slavery. The artist of this cartoon depicted a freesoiler being held down by prexyial nominee James Buchanan and representat ive senator Lewis Cass on the Democratic Platform, which was a shot at the Democratic companionship because many blamed them for the increase in violence towards anti-slavery settlers in Kansas. The weapons platform is labeled with Kansas, Cuba, and Central America, which represents the alleged Democratic goals of spreading slavery distant of America. The freesoiler is being fed a slave by Democratic senator Stephen A. Douglas and President Franklin Pierce. This cartoon shows that many people felt that the new states were being forced to accept slavery by the Democratic Party (Doc. F).sectionalism increased tensions between the North and South and thus contributed to the failure of the Union by splitting the nation apart on several key issues. Sectionalism is when a part of the nation, either the North or South, puts their owns interests over the hale nations concerns. Sectionalism can often lead to states breaking apart from the Union. From the period 1850-1861, the North and South were split over slavery and whether the new territories being added to the Union should be slave or free. The only way to prevent conflict over sectional issues is to have a strong Constitution that addresses the needs of each area of the country. Without that, the Union result inevitably fail (Doc. B). President James Buchanan, who felt that in tramp to preserve the Union, the Constitution must protect the rights of the South, further explains this idea. If the needs of the states are not met, then the states have the right to withdraw from the Union because of their own sovereignty.To prevent the chronological succession of the South, Congress should recognize slavery, protect the right of slavery in new territories, and support the Fugitive Slave Act (Doc. G). President Abraham capital of Nebraska felt that sectionalism and succession would lead to the demise of the Union. To even consider leaving the Union, a state has to feel that it is better than all the others and will be more successful on its own. However, no state in America had ever been on its own, leading President Lincoln to believe that no state can truly fend for itself (Doc. I). Because it was believed that succession would lead to the failure of the Union, sectionalism was discouraged because it would split the country apart. In reality, sectionalism occurred anyway and resulted in the North and South being divided based on slavery.The actions of the government along with conflicts over popular sovereignty in new territories and sectionalism contributed to increasing tensions between the North and South, peculiarly over slavery, and overall weakened the Union. The actions the government took during the period of 1850-1861 influenced the division between the North and South over slavery by passing the Compromise of 1850 and the Fugitive Slave Act. The Compromise of 1850 created controversy over popular sovereignty because it would give new states the right to decide for themselves if they would support slavery or not. The combination of government actions and popular sovereignty resulted in sectionalism, which furthered the divide between the North and South.