Sarah Uran

November 7th, 2017

U.S. History, Mr.Legg

Entry to the Civil War

A) Slavery was debated about by many politicians that were in America pre-civil war. The

Northern part of America disliked slavery and how the African-Americans were treated.

This paper, The Declaration of Independence, stated that all men were treated equally, yet

they wanted to allow slavery to be accepted(2). If all men were were supposedly treated

equally, then what was different for slaves? There was definitely a hypocritical nature to

what was happening, when they were writing the Declaration of Independence in 1776.

Although, Thomas Jefferson owed over a hundred slaves himself and even spoke out

about the enslavement of African-Americans(1). Jefferson understood that the slaves

were people and he even helped them obtain jobs after they were out of slavery(1). He

did not like the enslavement, but slavery was a huge economic boost that many people

could not give up(1). It was somewhat removed when they were writing it they wanted to

include Determined to keep open market where Men should be bought and sold but,

because the politics in the North wanted slavery to end they added a twenty year bubble

(which is explained in part C).

B) The Three-Fifths Compromise was a plan of basically how states will be represented in

the United States government due to population. In 1787, James Wilson, a liberal

delegate of Pennsylvania proposed the compromise with the goal of gaining southern

support(3). This would give the South so say in what was happening in the government
 and with slavery. Although, the problem that was promident was the south wanted both

slaves and landowners to be counted together so they could have more control over the

North(3). With early American government trying to avoid segregation between race the

compromise hurt the push for anti slavery and actually helped the other side(3).

C) Article 1 Section 9 states The Migration or Importation of such Persons as any of the

States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress

prior to the Year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a tax or duty may be imposed

on such Importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each Person.(4) This says that there is

a 20 year bubble in which slavery is accepted but after that it will decrease and the

North hopes it will actual stop. The Founding Fathers include this because it is a

compromise for both sides. The North does not want slavery and the south does, so they

include this in the U.S. Constitution so the south will sign the paper and they will all be

agreement.

D) The Northwest Ordinance which was adopted on July 13, 1787 was the method in which

states got admitted in the newly established government of the United States(5). Nathan

Dane and Rufus King made this plan in which the country could grow to the Pacific(5).

This, however, actually hurt the peaceful attempts of settling the slavery issue. Due to the

already segregated United States adding states and territories just forced them to pick a

side. It was just making more and more people argue about the same problem then going

to the roots of the problem and fixing it from there. Due to the Three-Fifths Compromise

states must have representatives that have a say in slavery which makes states with strong

points of view manipulate and bribe new states so they get more support.
E) The Fugitive Slave Act or other wise known as The Compromise of 1850 were five laws

that passed in september of 1850(6). What led into this, was California requested

permission to enter the union as a free state. Which offset the balance between free and

slave states(6). In result of that, the Fugitive Act came into effect which let people to go

into Free states and hunt down runaway slaves. This was in favor of the South and slave

owners that got to have more control because they knew they could mostly track down

their runaway slaves. The North did not like this law, because slaves would come to these

states for freedom, but now they do not know where to go because nowhere was safe.

This act was not very successful because people in the North helped hide the runaway

slaves in underground railroads(7). By 1860 only 330 slaves were successfully caught

and returned to their slave masters which was not the significant(7).

F) The Missouri Compromise was an effort to maintain the balance between slave and free

states(8). Passed in 1820, the law made Missouri a slave state and Maine a free state(8). It

was not very successful because in 1854, the Missouri Compromise was repealed by the

Kansas-Nebraska Act and three years after that the Missouri Compromise was actually

deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court(8). This was because Congress did and

does not have the authority to prohibit slavery in any states or territories(8).

G) The Kansas-Nebraska Act was an act passed by Congress on May 30, 1854 and basically

stated that people of the territory were allowed to vote if they wanted to be a free or slave

state(9). This was really unsuccessful because people like John Brown, an abolitionist,

and President Franklin Pierce, pro-slavery settlers, moved to this territory so they could

vote for what they thought was right. So, instead of people that were living in the territory
currently voting for themselves people moved in and stated a huge ruckus. Instead of a

vote of the people it was who ever could get more people in the territory and less of the

other side. They even turned to killing each other for this cause. This Act would have

been more successful if they only let people vote that lived there for X amount of years

so massacres would not have happened.

Bibliography

1.Early Attempts At Abolishing Slavery

Lab, Digital Scholarship. The History Engine. History Engine: Tools for Collaborative
Education and Research | Episodes, historyengine.richmond.edu/episodes/view/4890.

2 The Declaration of Independence

The Declaration of Independence: Full Text. Ushistory.org, Independence Hall
Association, www.ushistory.org/declaration/document/.

3. The Three-Fifths Compromise

The Three-Fifths Compromise. The "Three-Fifths" Compromise | African American
Registry, www.aaregistry.org/historic_events/view/three-fifths-compromise.

4. U.S. Constitution - Article 1 Section 9

U.S. Constitution - Article 1 Section 9 - The U.S. Constitution Online. Article 1 Section
9 - The U.S. Constitution Online - USConstitution.net,
www.usconstitution.net/xconst_A1Sec9.html.

5. Northwest Ordinance (1787)

Northwest Ordinance (1787). Our Documents - Northwest Ordinance (1787),
www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=false&doc=8.

6.Primary Documents in American History

Primary Documents in American History. Compromise of 1850: Primary Documents of
American History (Virtual Programs & Services, Library of Congress),
www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/Compromise1850.html.

7.FUGITIVE SLAVE ACTS

History.com Staff. Fugitive Slave Acts. History.com, A&E Television Networks, 2009,
www.history.com/topics/black-history/fugitive-slave-acts.

8.Primary Documents in American History

Primary Documents in American History. Missouri Compromise: Primary Documents
of American History (Virtual Programs & Services, Library of Congress),
www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/Missouri.html.
9. The Kansas-Nebraska Act
The History Place - Abraham Lincoln: Kansas-Nebraska Act,
www.historyplace.com/lincoln/kansas.htm.