[BLANK-1] opposed the concept of popular sovereignty in rega…
[BLANK-1] opposed the concept of popular sovereignty in regard to the admission of new states to the union in the leadup to the Civil War. This politician debated the issue with his opponent for a seat in the U.S. Senate, Stephen A. Douglas. While Douglas argued that it should be up to the people in individual territories to vote and decide whether their future state should be free, this politician argued against the idea. He claimed that “a house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure permanently half-slave and half-free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved – I do not expect the house to fall – but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing or all the other. Either the opponents of slavery will arrest the further spread of it and place it where the public mind shall rest in the belief that it is in the course of ultimate extinction or its advocates will push it forward, till it shall become alike lawful in all the states, old as well as new – North as well as South.” While this politician argued his position eloquently, he lost the election to Douglas.
Read DetailsJohn Brown’s anti-slavery terrorism came to an end at [BLANK…
John Brown’s anti-slavery terrorism came to an end at [BLANK-1] in 1859, when he tried to capture a federal armory to instigate a slave rebellion. He was stopped by U.S. Army forces under the command of Robert E. Lee (incidentally, Lee’s final notable action as a member of the army before joining the Confederacy). Brown was tried, found guilty, and executed for treason as a result of the raid. He found many sympathizers in the North (including future presidents James. A. Garfield and Rutherford B. Hayes), but was viewed as a treasonous villain in the South. The varying reactions to Brown’s raid and execution speak to the deep sectional divisions in America over slavery at the time.
Read DetailsAbraham LincolnAmbrose BierceAnn BellThe Civilization Fu…
Abraham LincolnAmbrose BierceAnn BellThe Civilization Fund ActFilibusteringThe Free State LegacyFort PillowHarpers FerryHinton Rowan Helper”I Hope to Have God on My Side, but I Must Have Kentucky”James LaneJohn L. O’SullivanLawrenceLeavenworthMartha ReadThe Mexican-American War”A Rich Man’s War but a Poor Man’s Fight”Northern AdvantagesSouthern AdvantagesThe Texas Revolution
Read DetailsPrior to around 1800, slavery appeared to be dying a natural…
Prior to around 1800, slavery appeared to be dying a natural death in the United States. Many northern states had outlawed the practice, manumission was on the rise, and many Americans saw that the institution ran counter to the new nation’s ideals (such as liberty). However, [BLANK-1] began around the turn of the century and breathed new life into the institution. Innovations to a gin machine that deseeded raw materials and the development of a new strain known as Petit Gulf made a previously impractical crop the Lower South’s most important cash crop. The process of Indian Removal throughout the 1820s and 1830s, and the abundance of cheap land that had previously been owned by Native Americans, further fueled this resurgence of slavery. These changes made slavery more integral than ever to the southern economy and worsened the divide between the North and the South.
Read DetailsWhile Americans initially supported [BLANK-1] almost univers…
While Americans initially supported [BLANK-1] almost universally, as the event grew more chaotic, violent, and radical by the early 1790s, support for or against the new republic firmly divided Americans along political factions. Supporters tended to become Democratic-Republicans and opponents tended to be Federalists. As the event spiraled into general warfare in Europe, maintaining neutrality with European powers became the prime focus on the new American government throughout the 1790s.
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