How Did the United States Survive With Half Slave States and Half Free?

¶ … United States Survive with Half Slave-States and Half Free?

The history of slavery in the United States was a long one and subject to many twists and turns. Ultimately, the issue that was so controversial in the formation of the United States government subsequent to the end of American Revolution became one of the reasons for the fighting of the Civil War. As a result of that war slavery was abolished in the United States but for over seventy-five years politicians, judges and social activists struggled to keep slavery from tearing apart the great American experiment.

Although it has not been publicized extensively slavery existed in all the colonies prior to the American Revolution. By the time that the Revolution ended most northern states had abolished slavery within its borders and it was only the southern states that continued this practice. At the time that the United States government was originally organized it was a major concern for the southern delegates to the Constitutional Convention. The south's economy was heavily dependent on the inexpensive labor provided by slaves. Although there was some strong opposition from the northern delegates, slavery was allowed to continue in the south. In the first compromise of many relative to slavery, the delegates to the Constitutional Convention allowed slavery to continue in the new United States subject to some conditions. The conditions were that slaves were to be counted as three-fifths of a whole person and that all importation of slaves would end by year 1808. This compromise allowed the government to be formed but it also likely sowed the seed for the Civil War.

The northern tradition of banning slavery continued as the nation began addressing westward expansion. The Northwest Ordinance banned the practice of slavery in all territories north of the Ohio River and this kept the practice of slavery out of these regions but it did not stop slavery from being an issue. The south was eager to protect the practice and passed federal fugitive slave laws that required northern state governments and citizens to cooperate in the return of escaped states. These laws caused considerable dissension among northerners and add fuel to the formation of abolitionist groups.

As the United States continued to expand the issue of slavery took on greater importance. The southern states were eager to maintain the balance of power so that they would have sufficient votes available to stop any possible abolition of slavery. State expansion continued an equal balance of slave and non-slave states until the Missouri territory applied for admission in 1820. At that time compromise was again necessary. Congress admitted Missouri as a slave state and, in doing so, enacted what became known as the Missouri Compromise. Under the provisions of the Missouri Compromise all territories south of the 36?30' parallel would be admitted as slave states and all above would be admitted as free. This compromise managed to maintain peace momentarily but events following the end of the Mexican War caused new problems to develop and the need for still another compromise

The primary prize in the Mexican War was the area that would become the state of Texas. When Texas applied for admission its northern border was above the 36?30' parallel but the Compromise of 1850 was enacted allowing Texas' admission as a slave state but its border was pushed back to the 36?30' parallel. The terms of the Compromise of 1850 were far more intricate that this small provision but what is important is that Congress again forestalled possible cessation and kept the balance of power between the slave and non-slave states.

In 1854 Congress created a new problem by passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act. The Act created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska and was intended to promote the growth of the railroad industry but the Act also included a provision allowing the settlers in those territories to make their own determination on the slavery issue. The terms of the Missouri Compromise and Compromise of 1850 were repealed. This led to the event known as "Bleeding Kansas" and although matters settled down shortly thereafter the residual effect was the birth of the Republican Party and increased resolve by the Abolitionists to seek a permanent end to the slavery issue. Subsequent to the Kansas-Nebraska Act, compromise no longer became an option and it was just a matter of time until the issue of slavery would lead to a civil war. The election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 sealed the deal.

The Monroe Doctrine was a pronouncement by President James Monroe that established an important precedent in the early days of the history of the United States. When Monroe announced the conditions of the Doctrine the United States was not in a position to enforce them but he did send a message to the rest of the world that the young government was prepared to do so. The two primary provisions of the Doctrine were that the United States would not interfere in the internal affairs of the European nations and would honor their current holdings in the western hemisphere but that all future expansion in the west was closed.

The application of the Monroe Doctrine proved helpful in later years as the United States was able to keep Spain and England from continuing their colonization efforts in Latin America and the South American continent. It also proved helpful in justifying the use of federal troops in Mexico after the Civil War in order to intimidate the French who were attempting to establish a foothold there. Additionally, President Theodore Roosevelt used the doctrine effectively in discouraging Spain from interfering with matters in Cuba and Latin America.