Civil War Compromises

The amount of hate and violence around the time leading up to the Civil War was high. People were angry, and believed that their way was the right way; the only way. Battles were fought, arguments were made, agreements were made, yet no one was able to get everything under control. Over the years, things started to get worse. Some believed the Civil War was inevitable, that no matter what, it was bound to happen. With the many pressing issues, events and compromises happening, the outbreak of the Civil War had finally begun. In 1820 Missouri and Maine were both in the process of becoming states. At the time there were eleven free states, and eleven slave states in the US. The senate wanted balance, and Henry Clay decided to propose the Missouri compromise. The Missouri compromise would make Maine a free state and Missouri a slavery state. The compromise also stated that the imaginary line across Louisiana (36*30) determined the slavery of that state. Anything south of the coordinates allowed slavery; whereas, anything north banned it. This outraged many people, including members of the senate. Northern were upset about the escalation of slavery, and southerners were upset about the compression of slavery. …show more content…
The book became a one of the bestselling novels of the 1850s, being called “the greatest book of the age.” (pg.363) Although it was one of the best books at the time, it was also very controversial. Uncle Tom’s Cabin was an anti-slavery novel that portrayed the harsh life for African American’s during this time of slavery. The people of the south didn’t agree with the book, believing that Stowe was overdramatizing the harshness of slavery. The people of the north on the other hand, did believe that the book portrayed an accurate representation of the life of a slave. The novel is believed to be what helped turn the northerners against