"Most settlers who had come to Kansas from the North and the South only wanted to homestead in peace. They were not interested in the conflict over slavery, but they found themselves in the midst of a battleground. Violence erupted throughout the Kansas territory between pro and anti-slavery activists, resulting in a death toll of staggering numbers. Several attempts were made to draft a constitution that Kansas could use to apply for statehood. Some versions were proslavery, others free state. Finally, a fourth convention met at Wyandotte in July 1859, and adopted a free state constitution. Kansas applied for admittance to the Union. However, the proslavery forces in the Senate strongly opposed its free state status, and stalled its admission. Only in 1861, after the Confederate states seceded, did the constitution gain approval and Kansas become a state. ("Bleeding Kansas," PBS Website, 2004)
The Fugitive Slave Act, another part of the 1850 compromise also proved less than satisfactory in clarifying issues about the legal implications of Western expansion and its relationship with the slavery question. The act's full implications came under consideration of the U.S. Supreme Court when Dred Scott, a slave, who had been purchased by army surgeon John Emerson, a citizen of Missouri, spent time in Illinois and the Wisconsin Territory, where slavery was prohibited. "After Emerson's death in 1846, Scott sued for his freedom, claiming that his journey to free soil had made him free." ("Dred Scott," 2004) the case reached the Supreme Court where a decision was reached in 1857, which found that the man was still the property of his master's heirs, because his 'time' spent in free territory did not 'cancel out' his status as a slave.
Even after Civil War, Blacks did not enjoy equal rights in both spheres of the union. The failed policies of Reconstruction ended in the election of 1876, an election that ensured that America would remained divided between North and South in its legal policies. By 1876, the country as a whole was "growing weary of Reconstruction policies, which kept federal troops stationed...
Civil War The beginning of the nineteenth century marked a period of reform and social changes in Europe and the young American state that was triggered and partly encouraged by the new era of industrialization. The transfer from agrarian to industrial societies changed people's lives and offered new perspectives for those concerned for the well being of the society as a whole. The widening gap between the American North and South
CIVIL WAR UNDERSTANDING THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR The American Civil War represented the largest loss of life in the West during the 100-year period between the Napoleonic Wars in 1815 and World War I in 1914 (McPherson, 2013). The number of Americans who lost their lives in this war is equivalent to the total American lives lost in all other conflicts in this nation's history. Any conflict of that magnitude is bound
Civil Wars It is estimated that between 1900 and 1967, there were 526 civil wars called throughout the world (Civil pp). Today, there are literally dozens of wars going on around the globe, and dozens more that have ended during recent years, such as the civil wars in Guatemala and Tajikistan. According to Christopher Cramer, most literature concerning civil wars has highlighted the role of political instability in the relationship between growth
Civil war is the most momentous and crucial period in the history of America. Not only did this war bring an end to slavery in the country but also paved way for numerous social and political changes. The country had already been torn by the negative trend in race relations and numerous cases of slave uprisings were taking their toll on the country's political and social structure. While slavery is
Lee decided to run even before Sherman was able to come, and escaped from Petersburg. Grant was able to catch him at Appomattox, and then was the surrendered. There were 360,000 dead on the Union side and 260,000 dead on the Confederate side, but the union continued. This war made United States as a nation and a state. Earlier secession and state veto power had been disturbing the government
Northerners saw this as a deliberate effort to bring more slave states into the Union, while Southerners felt it did not go far enough in stating what states would enter free and what would enter as slave states. The debate in the House and Senate was so emotional, that fights broke out on the floors. Eventually, the bill, with the repeal of the Missouri Compromise passed, and the new
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now