Slavery and Federalism
The emphasis on natural rights and freedom during the AmericanRevolution and its aftermath that resulted in the formation of anindependent United States of America contradicted sharply with theinstitution of slavery that existed in the country at the time. It was,thus, logical that slavery should an important issue in American politicsduring the 19th century. While the industrialized Northern states set aboutabolishing slavery from their territories after the revolution, theagricultural South whose economy depended on slave labor was adamant toretain slavery. Several attempts were made to reconcile the differences butthe issue of slavery proved too hot to handle, and ultimately led to thesecession of the Southern states and the Civil War between the North andthe South in 1861. This essay examines the impact of slavery uponfederalism in the United States with particular emphasis on the MissouriCompromise of 1820, Compromise Measures of 1854 and the Kansas-Nebraska Act Federalism and Slavery The United States began as a confederation[1] with a weak centralgovernment that ruled the country from 1783 to 1789 under the Articles of
-----------------------[1] A confederation is a union of sovereign states, each of which is freeto act independently. When slavery became a contentious issue withthe northern states supporting its abolition and the southern statesadamant to retain it, the concept of federalism was shaken to its core. The bill waspassed by the Congress but failed to pass in the Senate. Missouri was a slave-holding region and it applied for statehood in 1918. The passage of the bill resulted in re-alignment ofpolitical forces in the US, led to a split in the Democratic Party(eventually leading to the formation of the Republican Party, committed toabolishing slavery) and stoked a conflict in Kansas between proslaverysettlers from Missouri and antislavery newcomers. It is distinguished from a federation, in which theindividual states are subordinate to the central government[2] John Clay (now Senator) was once again largely responsible for thepassage of the Compromise Measures. The Constitutional Convention in 1787 resulted inthe framing of the US Constitution in which the broad principles ofFederalism (i. A compromise solution was found by lifting therestriction on slavery in Missouri and, at the same time, prohibitingslavery from Louisiana Purchase territories north of 36 30' lat. The compromise measures are believed to have further intensifiedhostility between the slave and free states. The Act over-ruled a provision of the Missouri Compromise of 1820 that had prohibitedslavery in the territories north of 36 30'--stipulating that the questionof slavery should be left to the decision of the territorial settlersthemselves. The fourth measure allowedslaveholders and antislavery settlers in the territory acquired fromMexico. The Missouri Compromise In the initial years of the US history, there was a balance of "free"and "slave" states (11 each) in the Union. TheSouthern states argued that the practice of slavery was an issue for statesto decide while the Northern states asserted that it was the prerogative ofthe federal government to abolish it.
Common topics in this essay:
Missouri Compromise,
Constitutional Convention,
United America,
Slave Law,
Articles Confederation,
Senate Maine,
August September,
Civil War,
Republican Party,
North South,
missouri compromise,
central government,
compromise measures,
kansas-nebraska act,
territories north 36,
slavery territories,
applied statehood,
adamant retain,
abolishing slavery,
civil war,
missouri compromise 1820,
kansas-nebraska act 1854,
compromise 1820,
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Acceptance Essays
