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Missouri Compromise In The Civil War

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Through the course of American history a ubiquitous theme of seceding oppression and holding true to one’s rights and beliefs is accentuated, however this sweet tea of American values has been brewed by an otherwise tart source, the tea leaves of tension. In the debate over slavery which consumed nineteenth century America, proponents and opponents of free labor clashed ceaselessly. The ensuing Civil War was caused by a self-preservation instinct that each side used to substantiate their discord. Foremost, beginning with the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions, the South began to resort to outcrying against the government, as they saw their future potentially dwindle away. Thereafter, through the repercussions of the growing sectionalism and …show more content…
A compromise was made in which Maine and Missouri were admitted, allowing for equal representation of slave and anti-slave states. Then, an amendment was added to the compromise in which slavery would be prohibited north of Missouri’s southern border. The role of the “Missouri Compromise,” lied in the effects of the ongoing tension, as the compromise was evidence of the lack of standing between the North and the South. During the the year of 1828, the House of Representatives passed the “Tariff of Abominations,” by a vote of 105 to 94. These tariffs protected domestic industries, which were located in the northern and western portions of the United State of America, and aggrieved the agricultural industry of the southern half of America. The reason being that, the South relied on cheaper international imports, due to the perils of a strict, agriculturally based economy, and the tariffs raised the prices on the products that they normally consumed. Further, the South anticipated many repercussions particularly from the Europeans who may have boycotted the South’s exports, and in order to salvage relations the South would have been forced to buy European products, which were now quite expensive. Later on when the Tariffs of 1832 replaced the “Tariff of Abominations,” the newfound power to nullify was expressed and advocated by the aforementioned John Calhoun. Accordingly, the tariffs were nullified by the state of South Carolina, but the tensions remained high due to the power that the states had granted themselves. Following, at approximately the year of 1840, the period of “Manifest Destiny,” came to fruition. This epoch was characterized by the enthusiasm Americans had to expand westward. Correspondingly, as land

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