The Constitution was created to replace the Articles of Confederation, since the Articles of Confederation granted too little power to the federal government, which caused Shay’s rebellion. Within the Constitution, there are laws that both limit and give power to the federal government and other laws that protected citizen’s natural rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness or property. The Constitution that was once the cause of national unity caused the Union to split into two separate sides: the abolitionist North, and the slave-holding South. The reasoning of this is mainly due to the Constitution’s ability to adapt to changes according the circumstances.
For the right of representing Illinois in the Senate, Stephen Douglas and Abraham Lincoln has a series of debates all over Illinois. During the speech at Alton, Stephen Douglas stated that he believes that the North and South can stay separated forever. The reason he claimed, was because the laws and institutions can be adopted to fit all of the states. (Document I) This means that the Constitution can change according to the location (state) or according to the situation. The North interpreted the law as stating that slaves shouldn’t be in slavery and should have the same rights as any citizen. By interpreting the law this way, the North made their states free. However, the South interpreted the law differently. The South said that slaves were property. This idea was seen in the Dred Scott v. Sanford case. Dred Scott, a slave, went to court to get his freedom since he lived with his master in states where slavery was illegal and his master died. Chief Justice C.J. Taney said that the right of property and the rights of people are equally important. Dred Scott was seen as property. It was declared that African Americans were not and could never be citizens of the United States, so the Constitution’s laws that protected the citizen’s human’s rights don’t apply to them. (Document D) Since the North and the South interpreted the law differently over the idea of slavery, this difference in idea caused the North and South to …show more content…
Those who read the book may better understand the horrors of slavery and the hardships they have to go through. This is how many of the North felt. Many people from the North didn’t fully understand the full extent of slavery. However, when people read the book by Harriet Beecher Stowe, they learn how inhumane slavery really is. Many decided to become abolitionists due to this book. Document G is an excerpt from Uncle Tom’s Cabin. In the excerpt, Harriet Beecher Stowe compares Legree, the slave owner to a “ferocious beast”. In their (the slaves’) eyes, slave owners are no longer human. She describes the cruelty of the slave owner, that the slave owner would violently hurt the slave, Tom, for simply speaking. Harriet Beecher Stowe also tells us what the slave owner is thinking. Legree believes that because he paid for Tom, Tom should always listen to him, without hesitation. Legree says that he is now Tom’s master and Tom’s “body and soul” should now belong to him. In this excerpt, you can also tell how normal this is in the south. Legree believes that he is superior compared to Tom, and that he (Legree) should never be
For the right of representing Illinois in the Senate, Stephen Douglas and Abraham Lincoln has a series of debates all over Illinois. During the speech at Alton, Stephen Douglas stated that he believes that the North and South can stay separated forever. The reason he claimed, was because the laws and institutions can be adopted to fit all of the states. (Document I) This means that the Constitution can change according to the location (state) or according to the situation. The North interpreted the law as stating that slaves shouldn’t be in slavery and should have the same rights as any citizen. By interpreting the law this way, the North made their states free. However, the South interpreted the law differently. The South said that slaves were property. This idea was seen in the Dred Scott v. Sanford case. Dred Scott, a slave, went to court to get his freedom since he lived with his master in states where slavery was illegal and his master died. Chief Justice C.J. Taney said that the right of property and the rights of people are equally important. Dred Scott was seen as property. It was declared that African Americans were not and could never be citizens of the United States, so the Constitution’s laws that protected the citizen’s human’s rights don’t apply to them. (Document D) Since the North and the South interpreted the law differently over the idea of slavery, this difference in idea caused the North and South to …show more content…
Those who read the book may better understand the horrors of slavery and the hardships they have to go through. This is how many of the North felt. Many people from the North didn’t fully understand the full extent of slavery. However, when people read the book by Harriet Beecher Stowe, they learn how inhumane slavery really is. Many decided to become abolitionists due to this book. Document G is an excerpt from Uncle Tom’s Cabin. In the excerpt, Harriet Beecher Stowe compares Legree, the slave owner to a “ferocious beast”. In their (the slaves’) eyes, slave owners are no longer human. She describes the cruelty of the slave owner, that the slave owner would violently hurt the slave, Tom, for simply speaking. Harriet Beecher Stowe also tells us what the slave owner is thinking. Legree believes that because he paid for Tom, Tom should always listen to him, without hesitation. Legree says that he is now Tom’s master and Tom’s “body and soul” should now belong to him. In this excerpt, you can also tell how normal this is in the south. Legree believes that he is superior compared to Tom, and that he (Legree) should never be