During President James Polk’s administration, Congress grappled with resolving sectional tension arising out of whether slavery would be extended to newly acquired land from Mexico as well as the Oregon territory. Congress did not resolve that sectional tension but exacerbated it in what may have been one of the most deadlocked and destructive Congresses in American history. (more…)
In the 15 years leading up to the Civil War, a wide variety of theories emerged for how the federal government should deal with slavery expanding, or not expanding, into the territories acquired by the United States.
Since the outbreak of the Civil War and continuing to the present day, the role of slavery in splitting America has been hotly debated. One may wonder whether there was merely a correlation between slavery and the Civil War or whether slavery was the cause. Investigating the nuances of the issue of slavery reveals that the Civil War resulted from sectionalism and slavery, which were practically synonymous.
Reply to Mason’s “Objections”: “Civis Rusticus”
Virginia Independent Chronicle (Richmond), January 30, 1788
Following are excerpts of an article written in response to George Mason’s article listing the objections to the Constitution:
“5th. Had the convention left the executive power indivisible, I am free to own it would have been better, than giving the senate a share in it (more…)
The North and the South had come to develop two distinct cultures by the mid-1800s. One of those fundamental differences was the nature of work.
By 1848, America had numerous sectional differences, and those sectional differences were beginning to take on a different character.
From the inception of America in 1776 to the mid-1800s, there was a balance between regions of the country. That dramatically changed throughout the 1840s and 1850s.
Through the early 1800s and well into the 1840s, Americans had developed a sense of unity and pride about their country.
By 1848, America had undergone a significant transformation from the America that the Founding Fathers left just a few decades before.
On November 7, 1848, Americans went to the polls to choose between Martin Van Buren, Zachary Taylor, and Lewis Cass.
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