The Era of Reform and the Democracy of Young America - Essay Example

Introduction The late antebellum period refers to a period characterized by reform changes, political democratization and rapid economic growth. It refers to the period before the American civil war of 1861 and gets used mostly in reference to the southern United States history at the time. It gets pinpointed to be the period between the war of 1812 and the American civil war. It gets considered as the pinnacle of the southern aristocracy. The late antebellum period got marked by two significant trends, that of reform and white man democracy. The reform movements during the late antebellum period aimed at securing equality among the citizens of United States. This period marked the beginning of the search for democracy, justice and equality in the United States history. The era of reform during the late antebellum period got marked by significant reform movements. One of the movements got to be the second great awakening which got characterized by massive religious revivals (Brands 292). Religious revivalism oversaw the birth of women’s rights movements, abolition of slavery and the temperance movement. The temperance movement aimed at reducing alcohol consumption as a way of promoting morality within the society (Brands 295). Religious reform became viewed as a way towards order and cultural unity. There was the birth of the abolitionist movement which campaigned for the abolition of slavery in the United States. This movement grew out of the moral persuasion that human bondage was morally wrong. They called for emancipation of slaves especially in the south. Protests against slavery grew during this period. They faced great resistance from southern slaveholders who viewed abolition of slavery as a loss of free labor (Brands 303). The women’s right movement got formed during the antebellum era. Many women called for equality and political right to vote. They also rejected the doctrine of separate spheres by calling for gender equality. Women aimed to change unfair laws, which provided husbands with the right to control property and children. The women’s rights movement got born in Seneca Falls, New York during a convention that took place for two days (Brands 308). Young America was a movement in the 1840s and 50s. It was a collection of writers, politicians, and entrepreneurs who viewed themselves as the force of young America. This era marked a period when America was experiencing economic growth, technological advancement and expansion of its territories (Brands 314). The young Americans era marked the birth of democracy in the United States although restricted to gender and race or color. The new found democracy got associated with the election of Andrew Jackson as president who won by popular vote. Political democracy got marked by suffrage of all white men (Brands 247). Social democracy took the form of equal citizenship and opportunity for all though, it became limited to race and gender. This era also marked the disappearance of social aristocracy and inherited social ranks. Equality became marked by the abolishment of certain legal requirements for different professions ensuring that academically qualified and non academically qualified individuals practiced together ensuring fair competition (Brands 248). Conclusion The era of reform and the democracy of young America can be related. Both trends aimed at social reforms. The era of reform aimed at ensuring moral suasion in society through religious reforms by ensuring individual and public morality (Brands 292). Democracy of young America aimed at ensuring equity among all citizens although it limited itself to race and gender. Equal opportunity was to be provided for all white men (Brands 247). Both trends got political. The era of reform instigated the birth of women’s right and the abolitionist movements. Women’s right movement called for equity in rights and laws pertaining to both gender. The abolitionist movement called for an end to slavery (Brands 302). The young America democracy brought about the democratization of politics in America. All white men became allowed to vote, and there got to be the formation of a new party system (Brands 246). The compromise- 1820-1860 As the United States expanded its territories, a weighty problem grew over the state of slavery in the newly acquired territories. America expanded its territories by seizing Spanish holdings located westwards of the country (Brands 222). The first compromise became made in 1820. Missouri, which got carved out of the Louisiana Purchase, applied for statehood. Congress got faced with the task of admitting Missouri as a free or slave state. The south and north differed over the role of slavery with the north majorly opposed to the south’s slavery doctrines. Southerners viewed the admission of Missouri as a free slave state as defying the principle of equality and they got worried over the balance of power between the north and south. They viewed the north as trying to gain political dominance in the senate and ultimately the government (Brands 235). This impasse became resolved after a petition for statehood by the people of Maine. The Missouri compromise got passed by the senate after the admission of Maine as a free state. Missouri became a slave state. The Missouri compromise also had an amendment underlined that slavery would be prohibited North of latitude 36 0 30’ and permitted south of the Louisiana purchase. The Missouri compromise helped avert a considerable sectional crisis but did not outline future solutions for such crisis (Brands 236). Acquisition of new territory from Mexico in 1840 led to differences between the slave south and free north states. The United States had acquired the lands of Texas, New Mexico and California which all lay south of the Missouri compromise line (Brands 337). In the North, there was a general assumption that congress would prohibit slavery in newly acquired territories. In a move to ensure the newly acquired states became Free states, David Wilmot provided an amendment on the military appropriations bill that proposed banning slavery in territories acquired from Mexico. Wilmot also argued against settling of free African Americans in the new territories (Brands 337). This bill became known as the Wilmot provisio. The proviso bill got blocked by the senate due to southern influence and the Democratic Party voting lines. To resolve the differences between the sections, a compromise had to be forged once again. The first compromise to Mexican cession became the “squatter sovereignty” which enabled the status of slavery within a territory to be determined by the actual settlers of the territory. “Squatter sovereignty” got interpreted differently by both the north and south (Brands 338). Senator Henry Clay provided mutual concessions on a number of divisive issues to reduce the tension developing between the sections. His proposals got passed as separate bills rather than a whole package and only after the death of President Taylor who had opposed the extension of slavery into southern states (Brands 339). The compromise of 1850 got made up of concessions to both the north and south. Concessions such as admitting California as a free state were made to the north while the south got provided with stricter fugitive laws (Brands 340). These concessions helped alleviate sectional tensions temporarily. The Kansas-Nebraska act was an effort by Senator Stephen A. Douglas to force slavery in Kansas and Nebraska under popular sovereignty. These lands covered by Kansas and Nebraska fell in the region where the Missouri compromise banned slavery. The act allowed the settlers in the two territories to decide upon themselves if they will practice slavery in the new territories. The Kansas-Nebraska act of 1854 undermined the sectional harmony. The act extended the south with slavery without providing the north with any concessions. The act indicated that the north was to fight for what they had lost while the south preserves whatever gained (Brands 344). The Kansas-Nebraska act gave birth to the Republican Party and territorial issue. Conclusion The Missouri compromise and the compromise of 1850 got to resolve and ease tensions between the north and south sections of the United States. Sectional tension that led to both compromises came about because of the status of newly acquired territories in regards to the issue of slavery at the time. Both compromises represented an effort of give and take for equality between the north and south. The compromise of 1850 eventually failed because of popular sovereignty which allowed the people residing in new territories to decide upon the slave status within their territories. Failure of this compromise resulted to a sectional crisis in the United States. Read More