The United States of America: Background
After the Revolutionary war, the inexperienced thirteen colonies were left to the job of creating a nation free of flaws. Even though the Founding Fathers of America did just about that through months of discussion, debate, and compromises, there was one major flaw in there plan which caused the American Civil War. That flaw was slavery. The Founding Fathers left out slavery in the Constitution of the United States of America, making it legal. The Founding Fathers said that it more important to create and keep a successful republic than abolishing slavery. But, over the next century, slavery became a problem in the north and south. Also economic and social differences between the North and South became too much to handle, only because of slavery. The abolitionist movement, a movement to banish slavery, grew and the South explained that they should have state rights and the central government couldn't take away their rights to continue a daily practice to own slaves.
These conflicts helped lead up to the American Civil War......
The Compromise of 1850: Introduced to take in the interests of the North and South to make compromises
The Fugitive Slave Act: Part of the Compromise of 1850, said that all northerners were to return any runaway slaves, anybody guilty of aiding a runaway to safety and freedom would be charged of the crime
The Kansas and Nebraska Act: Divided the western territory earned by America into two parts, Kansas and Nebraska, the inhabitants of these two new states would be able to decide whether they wanted to be a free or a slave state.
Dred Scott Case: Dred Scott was a slave who lived in a free state for a while and then returned to Missouri, a slave state. When Scott's master died, Scott went to court for his freedom because he had lived in a free state for a while, but the court turned him down because African Americans were not citizens therefore did not have the right to hold a case in court. This case increased tensions between the North and South.
Uncle Tom's Cabin: A touching book about the life of a slave in the South. This book changed lots of peoples' view on slavery and increased tensions between the North and South.
As tensions increased, the South also worried about their control in government since there were more northern states than southern, but when Abraham Lincoln, someone who believed slavery was morally wrong, but just didn't want it to spread, became the sixteenth president of the United States, southern states began to secede and the American Civil War began.
By the end of the war, the United States stood for what the Founding Fathers wanted it to stand for "the land of the free".
These conflicts helped lead up to the American Civil War......
The Compromise of 1850: Introduced to take in the interests of the North and South to make compromises
The Fugitive Slave Act: Part of the Compromise of 1850, said that all northerners were to return any runaway slaves, anybody guilty of aiding a runaway to safety and freedom would be charged of the crime
The Kansas and Nebraska Act: Divided the western territory earned by America into two parts, Kansas and Nebraska, the inhabitants of these two new states would be able to decide whether they wanted to be a free or a slave state.
Dred Scott Case: Dred Scott was a slave who lived in a free state for a while and then returned to Missouri, a slave state. When Scott's master died, Scott went to court for his freedom because he had lived in a free state for a while, but the court turned him down because African Americans were not citizens therefore did not have the right to hold a case in court. This case increased tensions between the North and South.
Uncle Tom's Cabin: A touching book about the life of a slave in the South. This book changed lots of peoples' view on slavery and increased tensions between the North and South.
As tensions increased, the South also worried about their control in government since there were more northern states than southern, but when Abraham Lincoln, someone who believed slavery was morally wrong, but just didn't want it to spread, became the sixteenth president of the United States, southern states began to secede and the American Civil War began.
By the end of the war, the United States stood for what the Founding Fathers wanted it to stand for "the land of the free".