Colonialism In The 19th Century

Great Essays
During the 19th century the United States had for the first time citizens that learned about the revolutionary war, and the first time in American history that the nation was divided on an issue that seemed to impact many. Slavery was an issue consistently debated in the late 1840’s until reconstruction. As the United States began to expand westward the debate of whether new states would enter the Union as a slave or free state. This debate almost brought the young nation to its knees. Henry Clay (Senator from Kentucky) attempted to get an omnibus bill passed, however after much debate the bill was killed in the senate. It was not until Senator Stephen Douglas divided Clays package into five separate bills was a compromise reached. This later became known as the Compromise of 1850. One of the five bills that was passed targeted fugitive slaves. The Fugitive Slave Act was nothing revolutionary; the constitution contained a fugitive slave clause, and even a law enforcing the clause had been passed in 1793. This clause however sparked uproar because this act removed due process that many northern states ensured to run-away slaves and made it a federal issue. This bill caused an uproar, and Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner, an outspoken abolitionist, was not an exception. Sumner claimed that “according to the true spirit of the Constitution and the sentiments of the fathers, [slavery] can find no place under our National Government . . . it is in every respect sectional, and in no respect national.” Our founding fathers intentionally avoided the topic of slavery. This was the first time in US history that American learned of the revolutionary war, therefore no one can be entirely sure what the framers intent behind the constitution is since no one was alive when it was written. That being said both the North and South used the constitution to promote their agendas. However, the Declaration of Independence is a document that supports the freedom of all. It says, “all men are created equal… with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” The Declaration of Independence supports that all men are equal and does not exclude blacks or immigrants. Slavery was very much a sectional issue based on geographical background. Sumner is toying with the idea that slavery is local, whereas freedom is national. This belief is what helped to form a new political party, the Republican Party, which was devoted to ensuring freedom is nationwide. Unfortunately, the compromise of 1850 did not prevent further debate over slavery. After the House passed a bill banning slavery in 1853 banning slavery in the Nebraska territory set off much heated debate. Again Douglas attempted to create a compromise that everyone could agree on, so the status quo could once again be reached. In 1854 Douglas succeed in creating a bill that would be passed by both northern and southern legislators. The bill split the Nebraska territory into Kanas and Nebraska, implying that one would be free and one would have slaves. It also repealed the Missouri compromise of 1820, which outlawed slavery in the Louisiana Territory north of the 36° 30´ latitude line. This later became known as the Kanas-Nebraska Act. In 1855 the time came when those residing in Kanas have to vote if it would become a free or slave state. After cheating on both sides, kanas became a slave state, but …show more content…
If we examine major events throughout the nineteenth century it quickly becomes apparent that colonialism had almost no impact on our nation. The idea of expansionism though was an idea that helped guide many decisions in the new country. If we examine some of the tectonic events of the nineteenth century it becomes apparent that colonialism is not involved. Manifest Destiny was the driving force behind the nineteenth century and is what can be used to understand the United States during the 1800’s. Colonialism is the practice of maintaining predominately political control over another people, territory, and or country while attempting to exploit it for it economic benefits. Colonialism was never an American ideal and was forced onto us, therefore when the British left so did

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