As America grew during the early 19th century it faced many problems. While there were many unique issues that the American government had to solve during this time period, they all had the underlying theme of slavery. This week in history class I created a timeline that shows the events with underlying roots to slavery during early 19th century America. The timeline contains short descriptions of the events and includes many pictures of the people and events. Events that are considered to be anti-slavery are placed below the timeline, and events that are pro-slavery are above the timeline. Slavery was undoubtedly the “elephant in the room” in early 19th century politics.
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| Here is our timeline. |
The Missouri compromise of 1820 designated 11 states as slave states, and the remaining 11 states as free states. This even split was essential because it guaranteed that free states and slave states would have an equal number of members in the senate. It was also established that all land north of 36 degrees by 30 minutes latitude line will forever be free states.
The gold rush of 1849 brought a sudden increase in population to California. This population surge caused California to request to join the union as a free state. Henry Clay, a member of the Senate and the House of Representatives feared that if California joined the union it would destroy the delicate balance between the pro-slavery, and free states. Clay fixed this problem with a 5-Part compromise.
The 5-part compromise that Henry Clay created maintained the balance between the power of free and slave state power. Firstly, Clay stated that all the land that was won in the war with Mexico can decide whether or not to allow slavery based on popular sovereignty. California was also admitted as a free state. Also included in the deal was that Texas has to give up its disputed land in exchange for 10 million dollars, which were to be used to pay off a debt to Mexico. The compromise also mentioned that slave trade would be abolished in the District of Columbia, but slavery would still be allowed. The fugitive slave act was the final, and the most controversial out of all of the 5-part compromise.
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| Here is a map illustrating the Compromise of 1850. |
The Fugitive Slave act was disastrous for former slaves trying to start a new life in the northern United States. During the course of 10 years, 20,000 blacks moved to neighboring countries because of this act. The Fugitive Slave Act required all citizens of the United States to help in the recovery of fugitive slaves. These poor slaves were also deprived of the right to have a trial by jury.
Many key changes were made to the United States during the early 19th century that sought to address “the elephant in the room.” Slavery is a big problem, and it is encouraging to see that out of all of these conflicts the United States ended up abolishing slavery altogether. Hopefully this same result will happen with the rest of the world in the near future.
Bibliography
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p2951.html
Pictography
http://www.ushistory.org/us/images/00080486.gif
App Used To Make Timeline
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/rwt-timeline/id724817238?mt=8
