In the years between 1820 and 1850, the controversy of sectionalism and slavery was very much alive. The South wanted to use slaves as a way to keep their fragile economy stable, but the moral contradictions of owning other people was too much for many in the North. And with the growing popularity of expanding the country westward, a new issue was created regarding how new territories would decide their slavery status. Westward expansion impacted the development of sectionalism from 1820-1850 in the United States politically due to Manifest Destiny, a harmful ideology that drove white Americans into the West in the first place, the Missouri Compromise, an amendment prohibiting the use slaves above the Louisiana Territory line, and the Wilmot Proviso, which further tried to prohibit slavery in the territories acquired from Mexico. Ever since the Revolutionary War, Americans have had a great sense of nationalism and self worth.
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Manifest Destiny was the creature that grew out of those ideas and as those ideas grew into an ideology, so did the racial justifications for exploring and conquering new land. For example, many Americans believed that white Europeans were the superior race to their neighbors: the Mexicans, Native Americans, and African Americans. The thought that these races are “unfit” to be a part of American society spread like wildfire throughout the states and helped give those people, mostly from the South, the justification that white supremacy in the United States was acceptable. This harmful stereotype that people of color were “less than” white Americans not only led to the integration of slavery in America but also contributed to the genocide of Native Americans through westward expansion. Therefore, manifest destiny was the stepping stone racist Americans needed to spread their ideas throughout the continent. Another contribution to growing sectionalism was the Missouri Compromise of 1820. The issue of sectionalism arose after the balance of power between the slave states and free states was threatened by the annexation of new states such as Missouri and Maine. When Missouri was ready to be annexed as a new state, the 11 free v. 11 slave balance was threatened as Missouri would create a Southern majority. Because of this, Henry Clay introduced the Missouri Compromise with the purpose of allowing states under the Louisiana Purchase to have slaves and to abolish slavery in every other state above that line thus making Maine a slave free state. However, this compromise was only a bandaid on top of the real problem caused by westward expansion. With each conquered territory, slave owners had more room to spread out and search for plentiful soil, which spread the practice of slavery and created more tension between the North and South sections (class notes). Up until the Civil War, multiple compromises were passed to try to control the slave debate, but none of them did more than put the inevitable war off a few years. Continuing the theme of new territories deciding their status, the Mexican American war helped establish more slavery questions for the federal government from concerned Americans. What would they do with the new territories? Would the governments of each newly annexed state decided it’s policy on slavery? To these questions came David
Manifest Destiny was the creature that grew out of those ideas and as those ideas grew into an ideology, so did the racial justifications for exploring and conquering new land. For example, many Americans believed that white Europeans were the superior race to their neighbors: the Mexicans, Native Americans, and African Americans. The thought that these races are “unfit” to be a part of American society spread like wildfire throughout the states and helped give those people, mostly from the South, the justification that white supremacy in the United States was acceptable. This harmful stereotype that people of color were “less than” white Americans not only led to the integration of slavery in America but also contributed to the genocide of Native Americans through westward expansion. Therefore, manifest destiny was the stepping stone racist Americans needed to spread their ideas throughout the continent. Another contribution to growing sectionalism was the Missouri Compromise of 1820. The issue of sectionalism arose after the balance of power between the slave states and free states was threatened by the annexation of new states such as Missouri and Maine. When Missouri was ready to be annexed as a new state, the 11 free v. 11 slave balance was threatened as Missouri would create a Southern majority. Because of this, Henry Clay introduced the Missouri Compromise with the purpose of allowing states under the Louisiana Purchase to have slaves and to abolish slavery in every other state above that line thus making Maine a slave free state. However, this compromise was only a bandaid on top of the real problem caused by westward expansion. With each conquered territory, slave owners had more room to spread out and search for plentiful soil, which spread the practice of slavery and created more tension between the North and South sections (class notes). Up until the Civil War, multiple compromises were passed to try to control the slave debate, but none of them did more than put the inevitable war off a few years. Continuing the theme of new territories deciding their status, the Mexican American war helped establish more slavery questions for the federal government from concerned Americans. What would they do with the new territories? Would the governments of each newly annexed state decided it’s policy on slavery? To these questions came David