Secession Dbq

Tara O’Leary-Stieb The United States was divided into two regions, the North and the South, during the 1850’s. The tensions were high between the two, and they were pit against each other in a battle over slavery, an issue that appeared to have no solution. The seemingly never-ending conflict became much more concerning as the threat of succession of the pro-slavery Southern states started to become more prominent. Over the course of a decade, many historic events occurred that led to the downfall of the nation, which is now known as the “secession crisis.” These events triggered a fear within the entire nation, some provoking one region more than the other. Both sides took many losses and gains, but the outcome was a divide in the country …show more content…
Henry Clay constructed this enactment in an attempt to keep the peace between the free states and the slave states, but the inevitable hostility continued into 1832 as the Nullification Act was put into place. The act said that a state could void a law or rule that Congress had brought into being if they deemed it unconstitutional. This was put to the test by South Carolina, who had taken a disliking to federal taxes, and refused to pay them. They even threatened to succeed in the case that these taxes were forcibly taken, which didn’t become a reality until December 20, 1860, after the election of Abraham Lincoln. Still at odds, both regions of the nation had to make some sacrifices during the Compromise of 1850. The North agreed to give Texas its title as, not only a state, but a slave …show more content…
In the 1840’s, the Free Soil Party, a short-lived political party, was created, and threatened Sothern’s with its very contrasting views in comparison. The party was based on freedom and opposed slavery, claiming free men on free land was economically and morally superior to slavery. Sothern’s fears heightened with the release of the novel “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” written by a Northern woman named Harriet Stowe. The book was an inspired tale of the heart-break and terror of slavery. It opened the eyes of many and led to an increase of anti-slavery supporters, which was a major concern of pro-slavery Sothern’s. Their concern was not in vain for John Brown, an abolitionist, instigated a slave revolt and took over an arsenal in Virginia. This resulted in the death of him and most of the other participants, but this didn’t ease the fear that the raid had created. Abraham Lincoln’s election was the final straw for Southerns as they felt they had no say as to what happened to them within the Union, ultimately leading to their