Evolution Of Democracy In 1820-1860 Essay

We live in a democracy, a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. In today’s world, democracy and its freedom can easily taken for granted, unless you remember where it started. The freedoms and rights of the American people have evolved tremendously from the days where the colonialists previously lived under a monarchy in other countries. I believe the root factor of evolution is that America tries to better the country as a whole and grow. There have been many stages of evolution of democracy with many different influential factors. For instance, the development of democracy during the time period of 1820-1860 was largely influenced by the controversial issue of slavery. In the 19th century, slavery had become almost …show more content…
The United States government needed to get involved and balance out the number of “free states” and “slave states” when Missouri wanted to to be its own state. It was a slave state and the Senate passed the Missouri Compromise which allowed Missouri to be a “slave state” and then Maine would be a “free state”. Then it was added on to that slavery was prohibited in the rest of the Louisiana Purchase. That part of the compromise halted slavery from moving and growing into the rest of the Louisiana Purchase. It was best said that“ it was becoming clear that strong opposing positions on slavery were beginning to take root” (Emer 3+). The Missouri Compromise was a way for Congress to make the decision on whether slavery would be legal in new territories and the first attempt to find a compromise and beginning solutions for slavery. It set a precedent that Congress could control slavery. There was a lot of heated debate on the issue, for a while it did reduce tension, but it did not remove the underlying problems of slavery. There were still slave states and free states, and the split over slavery would take decades to