Failure of Political Compromise
According to The Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the definition of compromise is “a settlement of differences reached by mutual concessions” (166). A compromise can be temporary or long-term and is typically settled by two or more parties. In any government changes are inevitable, so these compromises may be altered or abolished. In terms of slavery, compromise was one of the more difficult decisions in United States history. Determining whether or not it was morally acceptable to keep African Americans as slaves on plantation farms was a matter of opinion, which, in this case, was a national controversy. Being that this issue was so considerable, it made it more difficult to reach a reciprocated decision. Many …show more content…
The Kansas-Nebraska Act was proposed in 1854 and solidified decisions that were made in the past four years. This Act declared Kansas and Nebraska the decision to choose to allow slavery within their borders or not. It also overturned agreements made in the Missouri Compromise, such as the invisible latitudinal line that prohibited slavery north of the line. Clearly, the south strongly supported this Act, yet the north was enraged believing that the Missouri Compromise was a long-standing pact. Violence broke out after the law was passed as pro-slavery and anti-slavery supporters rushed to Kansas to try to persuade them to vote one way or the other. The massacre became know as “Bleeding Kansas” as more and more people lost their lives. As a result, Kansas was no longer able to become a state due to the constitution adopted by pro-slavery settlers. John R. Wunder believed that the Kansas-Nebraska Act was “a leading cause of the Civil War” as seen in the book The Nebraska-Kansas Act of 1854 (1). This act was probably the most impactful and destructive decision the government could have made. Instead of it settling disagreement it created more. Unfortunately the Kansas-Nebraska Act prolonged the issue of slavery for years to
According to The Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the definition of compromise is “a settlement of differences reached by mutual concessions” (166). A compromise can be temporary or long-term and is typically settled by two or more parties. In any government changes are inevitable, so these compromises may be altered or abolished. In terms of slavery, compromise was one of the more difficult decisions in United States history. Determining whether or not it was morally acceptable to keep African Americans as slaves on plantation farms was a matter of opinion, which, in this case, was a national controversy. Being that this issue was so considerable, it made it more difficult to reach a reciprocated decision. Many …show more content…
The Kansas-Nebraska Act was proposed in 1854 and solidified decisions that were made in the past four years. This Act declared Kansas and Nebraska the decision to choose to allow slavery within their borders or not. It also overturned agreements made in the Missouri Compromise, such as the invisible latitudinal line that prohibited slavery north of the line. Clearly, the south strongly supported this Act, yet the north was enraged believing that the Missouri Compromise was a long-standing pact. Violence broke out after the law was passed as pro-slavery and anti-slavery supporters rushed to Kansas to try to persuade them to vote one way or the other. The massacre became know as “Bleeding Kansas” as more and more people lost their lives. As a result, Kansas was no longer able to become a state due to the constitution adopted by pro-slavery settlers. John R. Wunder believed that the Kansas-Nebraska Act was “a leading cause of the Civil War” as seen in the book The Nebraska-Kansas Act of 1854 (1). This act was probably the most impactful and destructive decision the government could have made. Instead of it settling disagreement it created more. Unfortunately the Kansas-Nebraska Act prolonged the issue of slavery for years to