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Missouri Compromise
To keep a fair balance of power between slave and anti-slave states, Henry Clay came up with a compromise where MO would be admitted to the US as a slave state and ME would be admitted as a free one
It also made slavery illegal in Louisiana Territory north of MO (36 30' line)
Made the precedent that there were slave states and anti-slave states, which helped to pit the South against the North in wanting representatives for their type of state
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yjx_b5MsFA -
Tariff of Abominations
Tariff of 1816 puts a tax on cheap, imported textiles
Tariff of 1824 adds a tariff on expensive textiles and on iron
Tariff of Abominations (Tariff of 1828) increased other tariffs
Help establish and protect northern industries
Southern slave owners relied on cheap, imported textiles to clothe their slaves, but now were expected to pay a lot more
Profits in the North were increasing, while life in the South was expensive
A divide was created, for the South despised the North for the tariffs -
Indian Removal Act
Farmers wanted to remove natives so that the land they were on could be used for farming
Moved the natives to Oaklahoma
In Cherokee Nation v. GA (1831), it was ruled that this could not happen, but Jackson said that he would not enforce the decision, so it continued to happen
"Trail of Tears" happened due to this
Very controversial issue
North argued adamantly against this, but the South wanted the land, so it created more sectionalism between the two
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X76l6fwQAV0 -
Mexican-American War (1846-1848)
After Mexico refused offers from the US to buy land, US decided to go to war
Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo ended the war
Mexico ceded TX north of Rio Grande and gave US CA and NM
US gave Mexico $15 million along with $3.25 million in US citizen claims
Created sectionalism, for there were a lot of arguments about slavery in the new territory
It upset the balance of power between North and South, for the South now had enough power to block unfavorable laws
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8U9vbZwFZL4 -
Fugitive Slave Act
Strengthens Fugitive Slave Clause
Appropriates federal money to federal agents to enforce the law
Prevents PA from ignoring the act of sending fugitive slaves back to their slave owners
Takes fugitive slave cases out of state courts and puts them into federal ones where judges get twice as much money to say the suspect is a fugitive slave
Creates sectionalism because men burst into free states and kidnap blacks to put them on an unfair trial
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnWokuQ6kcA -
Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
A book that talks about slavery in a familial sense, trying to get people to see that slavery is bad
It is extremely influential, and sells 2 million copies in a decade
This book really starts having people speak out about slavery, which puts tension between the North and South. The South rely on slavery, and now the North has finally begun speaking out about it because they read Stowe's book. -
Dred Scott v. Sanford
Scott was a slave. His master moved to a free state for 10 years, then moved back to a slave state. Scott sued Missouri for emancipation, saying that since he had lived in a free area for a while, he was a free man. The Court ruled that slaves are not US citizens, so cannot be protected by the government. It also revoked the MO Compromise, squashing any questions about slavery locations The North feared that slave states would now outnumber anti-slave states if there were no slave boundaries.
