The years following the War of 1812 was a period of major changes for the United States. The country was becoming more industrialized with railroads connecting major cities, factories being built for mass production of goods, steam boats traveling along major rivers to transport goods to ports, and much more. However, the nation’s prosperity came at the cost of slave labor, and unregulated working conditions. The institution of slavery in the south and its spread westward was a major issue that divided the nation and caused the Civil War to break out in the 1860s. In the following paragraphs, there will be political actions that resulted in the Civil War and the war’s results.
When South Carolina made laws that could …show more content…
Jackson reasoned that the Bank was a threat to the citizens and that the Constitution did not authorize it. His basis for vetoing the bill to reestablish the Bank was that it was incompatible with the Constitution and with the country’s current progress, and the only way the Bank could work is if its charter is modified to meet the standards of the time. (Jackson 2).
On March 4, 1850, John Calhoun addressed the Senate on the stability of the Union and how it could be preserved for the future. Calhoun starts by stating that all the measures to prevent a war including the Compromise of 1850 are just adding to the tension between north and south. He also says that when the government was established there was equal power for all parts of the country, but now that did not exist. Calhoun then addresses that there are more southern states being added to the Union than northern states and that this would result in the south having control of both houses of Congress, so any bill that would restrict slavery would be stopped in Congress. (Calhoun 363). Calhoun then says that the only way the Union could be saved is if the new territory is balanced between what is a northern state and what is a southern state. (Calhoun …show more content…
Some of the restrictions placed on African Americans included that they could not intermarry with whites, they could not quit their jobs until their contract expired, and they must move off their previous owner’s plantation by January, 1866. (Mississippi 1-2). These codes denied African Americans most of the freedoms listed in the Constitution. In most violations of the Black Code, African Americans were sentenced to life in prison.
In conclusion, the events leading up to the Civil War and the effects of the war have had lasting effects on the United States over two hundred years later. Despite this after the reconstruction period the country experienced an economic boom and massive growth with new states being added to the Union. Segregation was slowly becoming a major problem in the south and would lead to a major reform movement led by Martin Luther King