1820 To 1860 Dbq Essay

Americans during the early nineteenth century were trying to reach for compromise to solve their political disputes, but by 1860 compromise seemed unattainable. The years between 1820 and 1860 were a time of vast change for the newly free colonies and each citizen had different ideas on what advancements from there would look like. All the disputes revolved around one thing: slavery. The issue proved to be explosive by 1860 when the nation realized the Compromise of 1820 and the Compromise of 1850, which were passed to bring a sense of unity, seemed to be done in vain as they hardly made a dent in the issues at hand. Voters joined political parties and voted for officials based on their attitudes toward slavery, the issue caused sectional divides between the North and South, and different cultural events …show more content…
The period in American history from 1820 to 1860 lead to a divided nation on the brink of a civil war.
One thing dividing the nation of America between 1820 and 1860 was the rise of many different political parties and the issue of states’ rights. Each politician was working for he advancement of the same country, yet had wildly different beliefs. For example, Senator John C. Calhoun of SOuth Carolina said, “We of the South will not, cannot, surrender our institutions,” when talking about slavery (Document A). While he was preaching the continuation with slavery, Democratic Congressman David Wilmot from Pennsylvania said, “The issue now presented is not whether slavery shall exist unmolested where it now is, but whether it shall be carried to new and distant regions, now free, where the footprint of a slave cannot be found” (Documented B). He did not want slavery contaminating any other parts of the nation. This divide in the leaders of America set a poor example. The variance in political platforms of candidates was also present The Election of 1828. John Quincy Adams wanted an expanded national