State's rights, nullification, Missouri Compromise, Compromise of 1850 and the GA Platform, Kansas-Nebraska Act

The Missouri Compromise was enacted in 1820. This compromise was only a temporary fix for a looming problem. The Missouri Compromise established that Congress had to have an equal amount of representatives from free states and slave states. The problem was, that if Missouri entered as a slave state, the balance of Congress would be upset. The way the government fixed this issue, is that Missouri still entered as a slave state, however Maine also entered as a free one. This policy worked for the moment, although soon it would lead to many unsolvable problems.

     A tariff was placed on important foreign goods in 1828. This tariff enraged Southerners because imported goods became incredibly expensive. South Carolina was more upset about this tariff than any other Southern state. John C. Calhoun (the current Vice- President of the United States) and many South Carolinian citizens got together and established a form of a petition disagreeing with this new tariff. The petition was sent to the Federal government and entailed that South Carolina was not going to obey this tariff. The government was not pleased with this petition and sent troops down to South Carolina. War almost broke out. Luckily the tariff was lowered, however Southern legislatures wanted to govern themselves more freely. These legislatures believed that states deserved more individual rights, and should be able to make more decisions for themselves. This belief plays a leading role in the belief of the Republican party today. 

     The Compromise of 1850 was yet another temporary fix to a problem neighboring the Missouri Compromise. There was a sudden gold rush in California, which led to California's want to be a state. Now the only problem was that if California entered the Union, (United Sates) there would no longer be a balance of free and slave states in the Congress because California was most likely going to enter as a free state. The North would then be given an upper hand in the Congress and the South did not like the sound of that. Now, five things were done in order to satisfy the both the North and South: Texas became a state (had larger borders), land that was formerly claimed by Texas was divided into New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and Nevada (the South had the chance to convince these states to enter the Union as slave states), slavery was abolished in Washington D.C., California entered the Union as a free state, and the Fugitive Slave Act was passed. 

     

     The Georgia Platform was a proclamation to Congress that is said to had saved the Union from separation. Georgian delegates, led by Howell Cobb, Alexander Stephens, and Robert Toombs, powerfully presented their case on how the Union needed to remain as one. Congress was won over by Georgia's overwhelming evidence on how the Union could not afford to separate and remained as one. Georgia is credited with saving the Union.

     The Kansas- Nebraska Act was created by Senator Stephen Douglas of Illinois on May 30, 1854. This Act allowed states north of the 36° 30´ latitude line to have slavery. If any states were established north of this line, the citizens could decided whether the state would enter the Union as a free or slave state. The citizens residing in these states were often very split between pro-slavery and anti-slavery views, and conflicts broke out regularly. 

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missouri_Compromise

http://www.apstudynotes.org/us-history/topics/nullification-crisis-/

http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-798

http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/kansas.html

http://teachers.henrico.k12.va.us/tucker/strusky_m/webquests/VUS6_madisonmonroe/Missouri_Compromise_map.jpg

http://www.ushistory.org/us/images/00080486.gif

http://www.jaysonblair.com/images/slave-wanted-s.JPG

Slavery as a cause

Slavery

     Slavery was an awful ordeal that went on throughout the United States (and some other countries too) for many years. Slavery started back as early as ancient Rome and continued on until it was abolished in 1865. It turns out that slaves were first used as hostages in Africa during wars.  

     Most slaves in the South either worked on rice or cotton plantations. Each of these types of plantations were far different than the other. For starters, rice plantations had the task system while cotton plantations had the gang system. The task system assigned each slave a certain amount of work that had to be done in a day, while the gang system forced slaves to work from sunup to sundown. Obviously, the task system was most slaves' preference. Rice plantations were filled with many dangers however. For instance, when the fields would flood, animals such as snakes and alligators would lurk in the waters, while mosquitoes would spread disease throughout the slave community. On rice plantations children would earn their first tasks at around the age of ten. Rice and cotton plantations did have some things in common although. First, there were drivers on both plantations, which were slaves that the owner thought were loyal. Also, some of these larger plantations would contain house servants and artisans. Most slaves would live in one or two room cabins with ten to twelve others. Food was basic rations: cornmeal, pork, and molasses. Many slaves suffered from gaunt cheeks, scurvy, bowed legs, and loose teeth due to malnourishment. Slaves only received clothing once a year, and were given shoes only during the winter.

     Even though slave marriage was not legal with a license from a courthouse, slaves still married. It turns out slave owners wanted their slaves to marry in order to establish  more stable communities and increase the slave population with no charge. Family was a large part of slaves' lifestyles, and they constantly feared separation. Slaves liked to attend church whether it was with their owner, or to an all black church. If slaves went to a white church they had to sit in separate balconies. Additionally, slaves saw religion a hope of equality one day, while masters saw it as a way to control their slaves. 

     There were many unfair slave laws and many acts of resistance against these laws. Some of these laws were: slaves were not allowed to read and write, couldn't work in print shops, had to travel with written passes from their owners, couldn't testify against whites and couldn't be granted freedom from their owners. Some acts of resistance were working slowly, eating extra food, and breaking tools. Men were more likely to flee than women, however most attempts were unsuccessful. 

     Many fugitive slaves and abolitionists had many goals they wished to achieve and many reasons for extreme measure against their masters. These individuals wanted to earn freedom for Negroes, longed for equality, and believed that they were soldiers for freedom. Many slaves went to extreme measure to get revenge on their master. For instance, one lady cut off her fingers so she could not be sold and her master would not make a profit off of her. 

     Georgia had many slave codes throughout the time period of slavery. A couple were: slaves could be publicly whipped for buying or selling goods, slaves could be killed for fighting back during a whipping, minorities could be presumed as slaves unless proven otherwise, and slaves could be sold publicly. 

     Slavery was an awful historical event that never should have happened. The life of a slave was full of cruelty, poverty, inhumane treatment, and embarrassment. Slaves had to suffer in order for white people to be happy and this is wrong in every way. People should have to earn their happiness themselves, not through their slaves. It is perfectly understandable why the North disagreed with slavery.

Sources: 

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/house-passes-the-13th-amendment

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nutrition_in_the_American_Slave_System

http://images.fineartamerica.com/images-medium-large/5-slavery-rice-plantation-granger.jpg

http://www.gwu.edu/~folklife/bighouse/images/vii1.jpg

In Class Video 2/6/13