7-3 Discussion Sectional Tensions in the 1850s
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One key event that escalated tensions between the South and the North, is the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. While the previous fugitive slave laws stated that all states had to aid in the apprehension and return of runaway slaves to their owner, there were two differences with the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. It not only “eliminated jury trials for alleged fugitives,” but it also required all citizens and state officials to assist in the return of runaways or be fined and possibly
imprisoned (Hewitt & Lawson, 2017, p. 12.6). This resulted in an increase in not only the number of slave owners and catchers, but also norther abolitionists that helped blacks escape. Northerners felt that the federal government was protecting southern slaveholders and it gave more sympathy to the abolitionist cause. According to Hewitt & Lawson (2017), the with the passage of this law slave catchers did
not care if the people they captured were runaways or free blacks, since the commissioners were being paid $10 for each slave and $5 if they weren’t (p. 12.6). These actions caused growing tensions between not only the South and the North, but foreign officials placed pressure on Congress. They couldn’t understand the extreme and horrifying measures that were being taken to maintain slavery since it had already been abolished in their countries. Southern slave owners and Northern abolitionists were at an impasse and did not want to concede anything else to the other side.
Reference
Hewitt, N. A., & Lawson, S. F. (2017).
Exploring American histories: To 1865
. Soomo Learning. https://www.webtexts.com
Mike Collier: I chose when John Brown raided a military camp in Virginia to steal the weapons. These two events are related
because it shows the acts that people were starting to take to
prevent this war from happening.
Austin Walker: Kansas-Nebraska Act as from the reading, it appears that many of the Northerners were angered and considered the dismantling of the Missouri Compromise a sign
of the rising power of the South. Those laws that enforced the
capturing of blacks regardless of who they were as you said caused more tension and had many more Northerners help slaves escape their imprisonment. The various laws that were in place were often a cause of various tensions and can sometimes still be seen today.
Sheriece Carrington:
Dred Scott ruling put many African Americans in harms way daily. The Dred Scott ruling stated that African Americans, whether free or enslaved, were not citizens of the U.S. and therefore they had no constitutional rights. Which meant if there was a case of mis-identifying a runaway slave, even if he was a free man, he would not be able to fight his cause in court.
Sheriece:
The ruling of the Dred Scott Case was one key event from the 1850s that escalated tensions between the North and South. Dred Scott sued for the freedom of him and his family in 1856. He believed that his lawsuit would stand in court because he resided in Illinois at one point, which was a free state, as well as in the Louisiana Territory. The Supreme court ruled that African Americans, whether free or enslaved, were not citizens of the U.S. and therefore they had no constitutional rights. It also declared that congress had no authority to ban or exclude slavery in any territories, nullifying the Missouri Compromise of 1820. With this compromise nullified, slavery would be able to expand into the newly western territories. This case gained national attention and Northern abolitionists as well as free Blacks feared that “a Slave Power conspiracy” had crept into the federal government. (Hewitt & Lawson 2017)
The Southern states applauded the ruling while the Northern states were outraged. Although slavery had already been a huge divide in early US civilization, the ruling of Dred Scott is a historic case that helped add fuel to the buildup of the Civil War.
Sheriece,
I almost chose the Dred Scott case for my discussion post; however, I ended up choosing the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 led to the capture of African Americans. Individual citizens and state officials were being paid to capture African Americans that were free and those that were runaway slaves. They only cared that the color of their skin was black, and they got paid either way. The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 “eliminated jury trials
for alleged fugitives” (Hewitt & Lawson, 2017, p. 12.6). This meant that even the free blacks that were captured, could not sue for their freedom. The ruling of the Supreme Court in the Dred
Scott case fortified the Fugitive Slave Act and caused more outrage among the Northern states. This led to not only an increase in the number of African Americans being captured, but it also increased the number of Northern abolitionists.
Thank you for sharing your post. I enjoyed reading it.
Terry
Courtney Gill:
In 1854, the Kansas-Nebraska Act was passed in congress, changing the predetermined rule that territories established above the southern border of Missouri would be free. Now
each new territory would vote on whether they were a free state or a slave state. This escalated tensions between the north and the south because the north thought the south
was becoming too powerful. They also did not like that northern politicians were not putting up enough of a fight and were compromising too much with the southerners. I believe this was a major turning point in the decades of back and forth about free and slave states.
Courtney,
With the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 individual citizens and state officials were being paid to capture African Americans, and they did not care whether they were free or runaway slaves (Hewitt & Lawson, 2017, p. 12.6). They got paid based on their skin color and not their designation of free or slave. The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 “eliminated jury trials for alleged fugitives” (Hewitt & Lawson, 2017, p. 12.6). This meant that even the free blacks that were captured, could not sue for their freedom. This led to not only an increase in the number of
African Americans being captured, but it also increased the number of Northern abolitionists. Not only were Northerners outraged at the capture of all persons African American, but passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act was another point of contention. This led to Northerners feeling even more like there was a conspiracy for more Southern power. Both the Fugitive Slave Act and the Kansas-Nebraska Act are contributing causes of the rising tensions between North and South.
Thank you for sharing your post. I enjoyed reading it.
Terry Reference
Hewitt, N. A., & Lawson, S. F. (2017).
Exploring American histories: To 1865
. Soomo Learning. https://www.webtexts.com
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