Essay on America's Reputation for Democracy: Slavery and Expansion in the 1850s

Over the years, America has had a reputation for practicing and upholding democracy. It ensures equality among the majority and minority. In the 1850s, Western Expansion led to slavery, which resulted in the American civil war, which covers most of American history (Hammond, 2007). Several federal policies were later formulated to address slavery expansion.

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In the 1850s, America was characterized by the rampant slave trade and rising controversies over the annexation of Texas to be a slave state (Hammond, 2007). It demanded the need to amicably solve disputes between pro-slave Southerners and abolitionists from the North through democracy in Kansas (Hammond, 2007). Despite the efforts to reunite the disintegrated pro-slave and abolition states, the North rejected the Lecompton Constitution in 1857 and thwarted any chances of consensus (Hammond, 2007). It was evidenced by the searing House and the Senate being antagonistic to each other, both the North and South schemed keenly concerning presidential candidates in the 1860 presidential election (Hammond, 2007). It was clear that American was divided between pro-slave and abolitionists, who respectively supported and resented American imperialism (Hammond, 2007).

In support of pro-slavery and by extension, the then Chief Justice, while giving a ruling over the Dred Scott case, established that slavery in the territories was a state-bound property that could be rightfully owned by any potential settler (Campbell, 1991). The Republicans, such as Abraham Lincoln, resented the chief justice's decision since it was in contradiction with the already established and thriving Missouri Compromise (Campbell, 1991). According to the compromise, no slavery activities were allowed in the territories occupying 3630' parallel of North (Campbell, 1991). The then Chief Justice Taney stated that the slaves were too inferior to claim any right from the white settlers, especially those who used them in the South for farm labor and thus contradicting the moral values which founded the Manifest Destiny (Campbell, 1991).

In the mid and late 1850s, political rivalry escalated due to differences witnessed in support of either Lincoln's steady means of slave abolition through containment or Douglas' doctrine, which gave Kansas and other annexed states the freedom to design police laws that could support or denounce slavery (Campbell, 1991). The formation of vast militias entailing slaves by the South to defend the peculiarity of their domestic institution slavery alarmed the North, although they still stayed calm (Campbell, 1991). In 1861, Abraham Lincoln, in his speech at New haven, hinted the chaos that America could face over slavery disputes and stated that it was imperative to find a solution since nothing could be achieved without keenly addressing slavery matters (Campbell, 1991). It had become a national disaster that was slowly dividing citizens into sections and turning them against each other even though they were all Americans (Campbell, 1991).

After the 1961 elections, where Abraham Lincoln won, the Republicans won majority seats in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, giving Lincoln a chance to abolish slavery through the autonomy from the national parliamentary majority (Campbell, 1991). In defense of their Southern domestic institution, the southerners, through their then-president Alexander Stephens, claimed to have rightfully addressed issues on African slavery (Campbell, 1991). Alexander Stephens claimed to have put African slaves in their rightful status in their form of civilization. It was one of the significant catalysts that led to the greatest civil war in America (Campbell, 1991).

The Southern resented the Confiscation Acts imposed by the Republican governor since they favored the emancipation of slaves. Every state had rights that were to be enjoyed by its citizens. However, it became controversial whether whenever a citizen left their state for another country, they were still supposed to enjoy their former states' rights (Campbell, 1991). The Southern citizens desired that every citizen from every state could possess the freedom and right of moving with his/her property within the United States. In their view, it was their right to go anywhere within the United States with their slaves and remain to own them as slaves (Campbell, 1991). The Northern citizens resented their rights since it violated their ownership of a free state. Northerners were dedicated to combating the expansion of trade; they declared an extension of slavery in their states (Campbell, 1991). In their discontentment, they threatened to leave the Union, a threat which was opposed by the Republicans who felt it was against the wish of the Founding Fathers.

The difference in their economic activities impacted their destiny and decisions. Between 1800 to1860, sectionalism shaped the history of both the North and the South (Campbell, 1991). The Northern advocated for and implemented the abolition of slavery (Campbell, 1991). They ventured into industrialization, urbanization, and the development of successful firms. On the other hand, Southerners ventured into plantation and substance farming, using slave labor. The southerner's agriculture-based economy persuaded them to seek new and fresh lands to the west; hence, Western Expansion. As slavery was getting extinct in the North and its borders, propaganda about its abolition in the South enraged the military, they resorted to using an iron rod in fear of any revolts from the slaves. Mass exodus by whites from the South to the North due to industrialization and urbanization significantly agitated Southerners who accused the North of departing from the ways of the Founding Fathers.

In 1860, the election of President Abraham Lincoln disgruntled Democrats since he had been active in trying to abolish slavery (Horton & Horton, 1992). The Republicans gained a majority of seats in both the House of Representatives and the Senate (Horton & Horton, 1992). Democrats perceived and viewed themselves as the future minorities and declared their secession to form a Confederacy before President Abraham Lincoln's inauguration.

Even before Lincoln could assume office, the seven southern states (Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, Texas, Mississippi, and Georgia) that had pronounced secession formed the federal state of America (Horton & Horton, 1992). The Southern government moved swiftly and claimed boundaries, including federal forts and properties. The outgoing president, James Buchanan, offered negligible resistance since he felt that no one had a duty to force states to remain in the Union (Horton & Horton, 1992). An attack on Fort Sumter in 1861, officially launched the civil war as President Lincoln assembled armies from every state (Horton & Horton, 1992). Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, and Arkansas joined the Confederacy after two months (Oakes, 2012). The Civil war ended in 1864 with confederate nationalism dying as Americans embraced American nationalism. The Civil war resulted in an estimated 1,030,000 casualties, which was equivalent to a third of the American population (Oakes, 2012).

Conclusion

In conclusion, slavery expansion in the USA gave rise to civil war and the formulation of the federal police. It was first experienced in controversies over the annexation of Texas to be a slave state, which resulted in disputes between pro-slave Southerners and abolitionists from the North. It fostered the establishment of police departments, which have helped in shaping the modern American values and approach to foreign policies. Differences in economic activities between the North and South impacted their destiny and decisions. It later resulted in the civil wars that ended with the embracing of American nationalism and disregarding confederate nationalism. It resulted in the upholding of democracy through the evaluation of moral values like slavery and racism.

References

Campbell, R. B. (1991). An Empire for Slavery: The Peculiar Institution in Texas, 1821-1865. LSU Press. https://www.amazon.com/Empire-Slavery-Peculiar-Institution-18211865/dp/0807117234

Hammond, J. C. (2007). Slavery, Freedom, and Expansion in the Early American West. University of Virginia Press. https://www.upress.virginia.edu/title/3344

Horton, J. O., & Horton, L. E. (1992). A Federal Assault: African Americans and the Impact ofthe Fugitive Slave Law of 1850. Chi.-Kent L. Rev., 68, 1179. https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/chknt68&div=62&id=&page=

Oakes, J. (2012). Freedom National: The Destruction of Slavery in the United States, 1861-1865: The Destruction of Slavery in the United States, 1861-1865. WW Norton & Company. https://www.amazon.com/Freedom-National-Destruction-Slavery-1861 1865/dp/0393347753