Senate: Major Issues (from Alexa)

The issues within the Senate developed because of the variation in Northern and Southern mentalities. The Northern view against slavery was formed because of their economy. Northern states had an industrial based economy and little agriculture, and therefore they had few slaves in general. Because the North did not have need for slavery, they could then judge slavery on a moral standpoint, from which they deemed slavery to be immoral and wrong. Therefore, they wanted states to be free, and not include slavery. The Southern states were strongly agriculturally based. The South relied heavily on large plantation farming to support their economy. On these farms slaves worked for no pay, making the South’s economy prosper further, and creating a luxurious lifestyle for southern plantation owners. The South needed slavery in order to sustain its economy and lifestyle, so when the North wanted to rid of slavery within the United States, the South responded with fiery debate and outrage. For the South, slavery was an economic and not a moral issue. The idea of slavery being moral or not wasn’t even considered because of how heavily their economy relied on slaves for its proper functioning.

From these mentalities issues came up. An extremely large one of these issues dealt with expansion of the United States. Because the US had expanded so much, new states were quickly being added and admitted into the Union. However, the Northern and Southern states had very different opinions on the rules that should be admitted in these new states, and the issue of slave versus free states arose. The Northern states wanted states to be free of slavery, and new states to be admitted as free states, while the Southern states wanted slavery to be allowed in all states, and for new states to be admitted as slave states. At the time both North and South had 15 states each who supported their view, so the admittance of more states on either side would cause inequality within the Senate. Both North and South worried that if they didn’t have more states on their side, their views would not be represented. When the Compromise of 1850 was approved, California was admitted as a free state, and other states were given the right to choose whether they wanted to be free or slave states. It seemed that more states were leaning towards being free than slave, relieving the North and causing the South to worry more. Southerners feared that their views would no longer be represented and paranoia of this is a crucial part of what led to their eventual secession from the Union.

Slavery itself was also an issue. Northerners started morphing from the idea of just having new states not allowing slavery to ridding of slavery altogether. This was what the South had feared most, and the fact that their economy had such a strong reliance on slavery prevented them from being able to abolish it without destroying their entire lifestyle, culture, and prosperity. No one wants to give up the privileges they’ve had their entire life. Therefore, the South fought vehemently to preserve slavery, and to push for its right to be allowed ever where. The South wanted slavery to be a constitutional right for all states.

Another issue within the societies was the Fugitive Slave Act. Henry Clay made the Fugitive Slave Act stricter in the Compromise of 1850 in order to appease the South. However, the North didn’t follow the Fugitive Slave Act and instead let runaway slaves live as free citizens in the North. The fact that the North was not following their side of the Compromise infuriated Southerners, especially since they needed the slave power on the plantation. To them slaves were property, and the Northerners were stealing that property right out from under their fingertips.

These were the main issues going on between North and South in the period between 1848 and 1860; the issues that eventually led to Southern secession from the Union and Civil War.


Suggested Sources:
Calhoun, John. “The Clay Compromise Measures.” March 4, 1850.
Gatell, Frank. “Whig Party.” Encyclopedia Americana. 2006. Grolier Online Database.
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Kraus, Michael. The United States to 1865. New York: University of Michigan, 1959.
"Republican Party." Ohio History Central. July 1, 2005. 14 October 2008. .
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