Missouri Compromise - Essay Example

Items as Causes of Civil War Missouri Compromise The Missouri Compromise was reached in 1920 between slave supporters and believers of anti slavery in the United States of America. The agreement was passed as an attempt by the government to put and end to slavery. It was in 1818 that that Missouri’s population grew up to a certain extent to demand its existence as a separate state. It was expected that Missouri would be granted the status of a slave state since most of its settlers hailed from the South of the country. James Tallmadge, then a member of The House of Representatives, proposed an amendment which would result in the ban on import of slaves from the State and consequently would bring freedom to slaves found in the State. However, irony stuck when this amendment was passed by the House but the Senate caused blockage. Alabama was admitted a slave state in 1818 and its admission as a slave state meant that now the number of free states and slave states stood equal in the Senate. There was a consideration now for Missouri to be declared a slave state alongside Maine being granted a free state status so as to maintain equality in the Senate. The Missouri Compromise was as such not really considered to be a reason of Civil War. It was simply a series of deals which lead to the foundation of the then national government. One of the earliest compromises in the face of this bill were to accept slave a three-fifths or a normal human being. Another very important compromise reached was the formation of two public representative bodies, The House of Representatives and the Senate. House of representatives as everyone knows, is based on population whereas Senate weigh all the States equally as it allows each state to have two Senators, irrespective of the population of the state. Missouri became the centre of attention and even though it was not a direct cause of a civil war, it did indirectly did build up the foundations to it. The name of Henry Clay needs to mentioned here. Had he not been there, we wouldn’t have has the Missouri compromise which is regarded as a reason for the Civil war being delayed by almost 40 further years. Items as Causes of Civil War Constitutionality of Slavery Slavery has been very prominent in the United States history. At the time the United States was created there was a lot of “black people” working as slaves. It was legal to have slaves in oldern times. The very first constitution of USA, called Articles of Confederation literally does not mention about slavery at all. The problem with slavery was that most of the people who were in favor of slavery came from the southern states. People from South, the way they made their money was linked to the exploitation of slaves. They used slaves for picking crops and all their other day to day work. Comparatively, North Americans wanted to ended slavery as they saw it as an important step to be taken if the nation was to progress. Even though the founding fathers of the constitution had many different opinions regarding the abolishment of slavery, in order to stabilize the economy two major steps were taken, much detrimental to the life of slaves. The slaves even though they were considered three fifths by the legislation, which meant that one slave alone could not even register an entire vote by him. Comparatively, their masters were given an edge by being able to cast a complete vote. There are also some laws which clearly how that the constitution of America so does not do justice with slaves. For instance, Indiana’s Black Law say that black (negro / slave) workers are allowed to cast a vote in elections. It further says that none of these slaves shall come and settle in to the State and furthermore any contract made with them would be void ab initio. There were many other cruel legislations which further go onto show how negatively the US constitution dealt with the issue of slavery. The Compromise of 1850 for instance made some new laws to please slave owners. The law included provisions like return of property, i.e. slaves, if they run away. They recommend punishments of up to six months in jail alongside fining anyone up to $1000 for helping a slave to run away from his master. On an overall basis the historic constitution of US always favored rich people and there weren’t any such laws giving rights to slaves. In fact slaves were seen as creatures who were born to serve the rich and be exploited. Items as outcome of Civil War Emancipation Proclamation Abraham Lincoln was one of the few famous presidents of America who was known for his anti slavery stance. Three years after the civil war in America, Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation order on 1st Jan 1863 which declared that all persons who are held as slaves should be set free. The text of the Emancipation Proclamation, even though seemed to be quite significant, was of a limited effect in many ways. It was applicable to those states who had broken away from the union which, in effect meant that it didn’t touch the issue of slavery in the Northern most states still controlled by the elite. Even though the Emancipation Proclamation failed to resolve the issue of slavery, it successfully won the heart of millions of Americans. Further on, issuance of the Proclamation meant that black men or Negro people were able to be a part of the Union’s army and naval forces. The Emancipation Proclamation is often times also considered as in act of affirmation or insistence by the slaves that the war for Union would eventually be turned in to a war for freedom. The Emancipation Proclamation did not only do a lot to an end to slavery but, it also successfully secured a position for the Proclamation Order as one of the most important documents ever produced on history relating to the freedom of humanity. The effect of Emancipation Proclamation on the Civil War can also be considered in another manner. Lincoln decided that it is essential to that slaves be freed in order to gain support of the public at large, which now viewed the topic of slavery as very controversial. He read out the Proclamation order in the house to gain support of other members of the house for the war. The proclamation simply meant that all slaves that were under control would now be set free. It is pretty ironic that the then Secretary State, Mr. Steward advised my Lincoln against the issuance of Proclamation until the Union won the civil war, so as to show to the general public and international countries that the US is issuing the order not under pressure but as an act of goodwill. Items As Outcome Of Civil War First Battle Of Bull Run The First Battle of Bull Run was fought on the on July 21st, 1861 in the Prince William County which, which is nearby Manassas and forms a part of Virginia. It derived its name as the Battle of Bull Run because of the region where it was fought. This battle was lead by Brigadier Irwin Mcdowell who represented the Union and the Confederation army was lead by Brigadier Joseph E. Johnston. When both the parties came across each other in Manassas, both planned to launch an attack on the left flank of each other’s army. The Confederate army however, reacted very quickly to the plan of the Union army by ordering its troops to secure the left as well as the right flanks. The result of the war was very pleasing for the confederates and it can be shown clearly from statistics. Almost five thousand men died in this wear and three thousand of them came from the Union side. The First Battle of Bull Run is regarded by many as the first major battle fought in land which formed a part of the Civil war. Before this battle happened, many people really just talked about the war and didn’t believe such a thing would happen. Even though this battle was really a small one if compared to other conflicts that took place, it did ultimately help to set the direction of the Civil War. It was this battle that made President Lincoln realize that the conflict the country was caught up with was not a trivial one and therefore, he decided to recruit more troops foreseeing the upcoming war. Read More