Critical Thinking Sample: From 1842 to 1860, on what grounds did Americans support and condemn slavery?
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This paper will be about the ongoing crisis regarding slavery and its effects in the US from 1842 to 1860, and there were often two extremes. Either those who felt like it should be abolished entirely or those people who heavily supported such a movement. As there was no middle ground to be found between the two, it was clear that this issue will lead to clear political conflicts especially as typically the Democrats and government were seen to be supporting such a movement while there were other liberal parties and activists who worked hard for the cause of diminishing slavery.
There were a number of rebellions, movements and even novels that strew up the anti-slavery movement and gained support, especially in the north, but these attempts often failed. These attempts failed primarily because the federal government which had the greatest power was a supporter of slavery and felt that under the constitution this was seen as right. Due to rise in white supremacy and slaves dominantly being black they also often times found laws to be extremely discriminating, which made it difficult for them to gain support. However, there were still numerous, and many successful efforts made to help eradicate expansionism and slavery and give greater rights to black people as well.
Before the American Revolution took place, slavery was looked upon as the norm in society. All the colonies in the north and south were heavily dependent on these workers for growing their crops such as sugar, tobacco. It is evident from the map provided that the highest concentration of slaves was situated along the black belt (Bain-Conkin, 2018). Alabama and Coastal South Carolina were the hubs for the growth of agricultural, and therefore, this area had the greatest concentration of slaves. The fact that these areas required a large amount of manual labor and people with less skill contributed to this high concentration.
An anti-slavery movement initiated in the 1770s, but one of the key events in this movement happened in 1803 where a rebellious riot led by France’s enslaved, led to a sugar colony being taken over and ruled by them. The Haitian revolution also added to the fire, however even until this point, most white Americans were indifferent to the idea of slavery, and it was rather black Americans who continued for the wage against slavery (Bain-Conkin, 2018). Sectional differences really contributed to the growth of slavery, with Kentucky and Tennessee growing as slave states while Ohio and Indiana took a toll as being Free states. The Missouri Compromise led to the decision that the constitution provided protection where it existed.
Essentially throughout the timeline, Southerners tended to support a pro-slavery approach while people in the North were more in favor of the ‘all men are created equal’ ideal (Bain-Conkin, 2018). There is a need to first evaluate the support given by Americans to slavery. Through the years, there had been a pro-slavery government present, and through the Missouri Compromise, it was made evident that the white Americans did not want to see black Americans gain citizenship and therefore supported slavery.
There was clear white supremacy, and as most slaves were black, their only advocates would be black activists. White men would still gain greater opportunities and find it easier to gain status and recognition in society. As slavery had become a very sensitive topic, parties tended to avoid touching upon it. In 1928, Jackson, rather than addressing slavery, focused more on uniting the white male population and expanding their territory.
Democrats played a major rule in the growth and support of slavery, and they were often called the ‘lapdogs’ of the southerners due to their undying support for the pro-slavery cause. Pro-slavery activists like Polk aimed to acquire more land, and this was, in turn, beneficial to the growth of slavery (Bain-Conkin, 2018). The federal government was also in support of these sentiments, and these sentiments gained even greater fuel by being inspired by the pro-slavery progressions in Florida and Texas. As both these cities joined the union of slave states in 1845. In 1846 again Polk and Democrats wanted to expand. They started justifying slavery to invade foreign land and went ahead to acquire Mexico City. The south was in favor of this movement. The treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo supported the establishment of slavery and helped expand slavery even further. Whigs and Democrats remained silent on this development.
Henry Clay was an anti-slavery advocate; however, it was evident he failed to gain much support for these motives, and people often looked down upon him. His efforts were not appreciated by his fellow congressmen. The Fugitive Slavery Act gave federal commissioners the power to determine the date of every individual state and slavery, and this led to the expansion of slavery (Bain-Conkin, 2018). There was growing enslavement and corruption due to these laws. Douglas was a staunch supporter of slavery, and he initiated reforms to achieve his aims. Anyone who opposed this movement was typically enslaved such as Anthony burns, even though it took $40,000 the government still managed to capture and enslave him (Bain-Conkin, 2018).
An anti-immigrant movement started again from 1854 to 1855, but it did not gain as much momentum as the anti-slavery movement did. The federal government, however, refused to take into account the votes of people who condemned slavery in Kansas, and this led to a major downfall. Scott v Stanford was a key case that decided that black Americans could not gain citizenship, and this proved the commitment of the government for expanding slavery and justifying it (Bain-Conkin, 2018).
On the other hand, the anti-slavery movement had also gained momentum. Slavery was seen as going against the fundamentals of the US constitution, and its supporters sought that it suppressed wages, and the land could be used for better motives. Even the language present in the 10th amendment supported the ban on slavery. Rebellions started to arise, such as the incident in Denmark in 1822, and this led to a lot of violence and deaths (Bain-Conkin, 2018). There arose a number of political conflicts because of the rise of this movement. Whigs was established, which fought for the cause of more racial equality and the abolition of slavery. It started to gain support in the northern cities, Lincoln and Whigs blamed the Democrats for the growth in slavery. Anti-slavery parties such as the Anti-Slavery Liberty Party was established in 1839 and continued to gain support.
One of the major points of conflict was the fight for gaining more rights for the fugitive slaves and their rights. Often the activists who supported this cause were themselves former slaves who had escaped and therefore this cause was very dear to their heart. Black slaves, as well as blacks who were not slaves heavily supported this cause to go against these unjust laws. Anti-slavery voices were getting stronger. After Whigs and other parties failed to give effect, the Free-soil party emerged, and they started a line of conscience Whigs (Bain-Conkin, 2018). Surprisingly they gained four times the number of votes than any previous anti-slavery party had been able to gain. They had gained 10% of the votes which were sufficient to call a change in power between the Whigs and the Democrats (Bain-Conkin, 2018).
Wisconsin becoming a free state was a major win for this movement and encouraged other slaves and states to move towards such a movement. Anti-slavery writers came into view, and a novel published by Harriet showed the clear disparity and injustice that the slaves were facing, and this moved a lot of people towards supporting this cause as they felt the slaves were being treated unfairly. This sparked many people to condemn slavery. There were a number of ongoing protests in Kansas and Nebraska, and this movement was gaining momentum. Americans resisted any type of law passed by the government that now supported slavery. A crowd of slaves led by Anthony burns attacked the courthouse and killed the US Marshall (Bain-Conkin, 2018). This was a clear indication that this issue had to be addressed and could not just be avoided by the powers. Slaves clearly if they united had a lot of strength.
Anthony burns, although arrested, became a huge symbol of freedom and injustice against slaves and gained a number of supporters and followers who saw him as an inspiration. There were immigrant aid authorities that rose, and these provided immigrants with food as well as guns so they could retaliate and fight against any type of movement against them. A new Republican party was also set up, and it continued to gain support; however, when it came to the results the voters debunked, and the government refused to acknowledge their votes.
With Lincoln being one of the strongest critics of slavery gave rise to the hope that in 1860 the US might have their first ever anti-slavery president, but this dream was not yet to become a reality but potentially in the coming years. Brown was another radical who cause a lot of deaths in the name of this movement, but these parties often did not associate themselves with him but rather as moderates, so they were able to gain support from multiple fronts.
In conclusion, this sectional crisis has been ongoing for many years and has caused a lot of conflicts and disparity among the people who supported slavery versus those who condemned it. The reality of this movement till 1862 is not clear, and the only clear way out seems like a waging war between these two to gain justice and equality or to shut down any such notions completely.
Reference
Bain-Conkin, J. (2018). The Sectional Crisis. In J. Locke & B. Wright, The American Yawp. Stanford: Stanford University Press. Retrieved from http://www.americanyawp.com/text/13-the-sectional-crisis/