Discuss the rise of slavery in the South from 1800 to 1850. How did it become embedded into the South's culture, language, and religion?
By the beginning of the 19th century, slavery in the U.S. was firmly established with a series of statutes and penal codes enacted in various states to regulate the activity of slaves and all conduct involving slaves and free blacks. With the Louisiana Purchase, the question of slavery became both geographical and political, and ushered in a period of national debate between pro- and anti-slavery states to gain political and economic advantage. But by 1820, Congress was embroiled in the debate over how to divide the newly acquired territories into slave and free states.
The Missouri Compromise—also referred to as the Compromise of 1820—was an agreement between the pro- and anti-slavery factions regulating slavery in the western territories. It prohibited slavery in new states north of the border of the Arkansas territory, excluding Missouri. Constitutionally, the Compromise of 1820 established a precedent for the exclusion of slavery from public territory acquired after the Constitution, and also recognized that Congress had no right to impose upon states seeking admission to the Union conditions that did not apply to those states already in the Union. After Missouri's admission to the Union in 1821, no other states were admitted until 1836 when Arkansas became a slave state, followed by Michigan in 1837 as a free state. Indeed, the debate over slave and free states remained relatively calm for almost 30 years. However by the late 1840s, several events occurred that upset the balance: the U.S. added new territory as a result of the Mexican war, and the question of whether that territory would be slave or free arose again. California, beneficiary of an increased population because of the gold rush—petitioned Congress to enter the Union as a free state. At the same time, Texas laid claim to territory extending all the way to Santa Fe. Of course Washington, D.C., the nation’s capital, not only allowed slavery but was home to the largest slave market in North America.
In January 1850, Henry Clay presented a bill that would become known as the Compromise of 1850. The terms of the bill included a provision that Texas relinquish its disputed land in exchange for $10 million to be paid to Mexico. The territories of New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona, and Utah were defined while leaving the question of slavery off the table, on the understanding that the issue would be decided when the territories applied for statehood. In addition, the slave trade would be abolished in the District of Columbia, although slavery would still be permitted in the nation’s capitol. It was agreed that California would be admitted as a free state, but the Fugitive Slave Act was passed to mollify pro-slavery states. This bill was the most controversial of all the bills that made up the Compromise of 1850. According to its tenets, citizens were required to aid in the recovery of fugitive slaves. Fugitives had no right to a jury trial. The cases were handled by special commissioners, who were paid $5 if a fugitive was released and $10 if the captive was returned to slavery. In addition, the act called for changes that made the process for filing a claim against a fugitive easier for slave owners. The new law was devastating. Many former slaves who had been attempting to build lives in the North left their homes and fled to Canada, which added approximately 20,000 blacks to its population over the following decade. Harriet Jacobs, a fugitive living in New York, described this period as “the beginning of a reign of terror to the colored population.” She was one of the runaways who remained in New York, despite learning that slave catchers had been hired to track her down. Many were captured and returned to slavery, however, including Anthony Burns, a fugitive living in Boston. Even free blacks, too, were captured and sent to the South, completely defenseless with no legal rights. The compromise lasted until the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act in 1854, when Illinois Senator Stephen Douglas proposed legislation allowing the issue of slavery to be decided in the new territories.
Discuss the rise of slavery in the South from 1800 to 1850. How did it become...
The ancient Roman version of slavery differed from slavery in the American South before 1865, particularly in its ideas of identity, race, and authority. How could learned men such as Polybius be enslaved, and how could slaves become free? How did slavery in ancient times affect the economy?
1. What were the most important causes and events that led to the Civil War? What issues had long divided the sections of the North and South, and why did these issues become so difficult to compromise on after 1846? How did the issue of western expansion aggravate the conflict between the North and the South between 1836-1861? What specific events intensified the sectional conflict between 1850 and 1860? How did each side, North and South, perceive the actions of...
Discuss the public debt management objective of financial credibility. How did South Africa fare in this respect after 1994 and recent times given the downgrading of South Africa’s sovereign debt to junk status by all the three rating agencies?
Choose one time period and discuss the history of racial/ethnic oppression. 1) Slave trade in Virginia (1600s) 2) Slavery in the United States south (1800s) 3) Chinese railroad workers in US (1868-1924) 4) Trail of tears (1831-1850) Native Americans 5) Small Pox Epidemic Native Americans (1754-1763) 6) Anti-ltalian Immigration (1840-1924) 7) Anti-Jewish Immigration (1860- 1930) 8) Social Darwinism (1880-1944) 9) Anti-German Immigration (1680-1760) 10) 1985 Philadelphia Police Bombing (1985) 11) Anti-Latino Immigration (1840-1936) 12) One of your own choice (must...
By approximately how many square miles did the area of the united states increase from 1800 to 1900?
Possible Essay Questions: Briefly describe the major events of US expansion from the Louisiana Purchase to California Gold Rush. Which sections of the country were opposed to expansion and why. How does the institution of slavery fit into the debate over expansion. (Missouri Compromise, Texas and Mexican American War, Wilmot Proviso and Compromise of 1850) Describe the North and South during the Civil War, what advantages and disadvantages did each side have. Why. How did the Union and Confederacy compare...
Discuss Progressivism and identify the main groups and ideas that drove the Progressive movements. .How did WWI and its aftermath provide African Americans with opportunities? Discuss W.E.B. DuBois and the rise of the NAACP. Discuss Marcus Garvey and the rise of Garveyism.
6. How did images and popular culture shape Americans' ideas about the Soviet Union and the atomic bomb? Use the films embedded in the learning module. 7. What defense measures did Americans take against a possible nuclear attack in the 1940's and 1950's? 8. What was the Lavender Scare? Why were people targeted in this "scare"? 9. Why did Joseph McCarthy become so popular in America? What led to his downfall? 10. What was life like for those in America...
1. Discuss the Great Migration and its impact on Black life in America. How did the Great Migration impact life in American Industrial cities? 2. Discuss the Emergence of Harlem and the Harlem Renaissance. Who were some key figures during this era? 3. How did Mass Consumption, consumerism, and the idea of the “American way of life” affect people’s understanding of American values, including the meaning of freedom, in the 1920s? 4. Discuss the effects of Business Culture mixing with...
(3) Discuss the rise of science and mathematics in the Islamic world from the 7th to the 13th centuries, and how it influenced science and mathematics in Europe during the Renaissance.