DBQ #1 Exemplar 2014
As America raged into the 1840s, the issue of slavery’s existence within the
free nation became the most centralized and pressing topic within the American
Union. The acquisition of Mexican Territory after the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe
Hidalgo raised the question of whether slavery should be expanded into new
territory, and culminated sectional conflict that had been forming as a result of
events such as the Market Revolution, differentiating the nation’s economy, the Era
of Reform which challenged American’s into a new way of thought regarding the
demand to press social issues, and the Missouri Compromise. In the middle of the
19th century, differing economic foundations and structures, the entrance of slavery
into the political sphere, and the reforming debate over freedom and how slavery fit
into this societal definition increased American sectionalism, and caused Southern
states to abandon the Union for a new Confederation which subsequently resulted
in the onset of the Civil War.
Separation within the Union and the significance of slavery was greatly
intensified as a result of northern and southern differentiation in economic basis.
This is exemplified by the secondary source maps depicting concentration of
slavery, cotton production, and railroad development in 1960 America (Doc A),
which illustrated the sectional economic division centered upon southern necessity
for slave labor to produce cotton in contrast to the progressive industry of the North
which had little demand for slave power and could function instead on free labor.
Explicitly, the railroad development within the Northeast allowed it to increase its
economic connection with the Northwest- decreasing reliance on the South for non-
cotton products and allowed for quicker western travel which could further their
economic advancement and ability to gain economic prosperity through westward
expansion and manifest destiny. In Doc B, graphs and statistics of the 1861
population, industry and agriculture signify economic confliction at the start of the
Civil War given the South’s lack of industrial development as in the Union which
allowed for a denser and freer population, instead consisting of a large slave
population and forming the basis of their economic foundation off their leading
status in cotton exportation. This differentiation showed that the Northern
industrial economy allowed for a larger population and the ability for
transportation connection to areas of corn production- resulting in the higher value
of Northern exportation. While there was originally an extreme degree of
codependency, the other features present in the north such as the increased
population and interconnectedness with the west contested the idea that the Union
must remain in solidarity. In the 1857 text by political writer Hinton Helper (Doc C),
the argument is made to his fellow southern population that the South is reliant
upon the more beneficial northern society of industry and freedom, signifying the
development of division and that the South will be challenged in order to function
successfully independently. The argument in Doc C that the material goods
produced by the north are of higher significance and value than southern ability to
export; this within itself caused southern frustration as they felt that with the
increased price of slaves and closure of the international slave trade, the north was
reaping the benefits of the cotton trade. This argument was however challenged,
and many southerners before secession impressed upon the idea of codependency
and the significance of the Cotton Kingdom. Delivered to the U.S. Senate, the speech
of South Carolina Senator James Hammond (Doc D), threatens the danger of
declaring war on and angering the South, showing the increased potential for Civil
War and the North’s dependency on Southern function.
Until the mid-19th century, slavery was pushed away from the political
sphere in order to avoid conflict, but the eventual introduction of such an issue into
politics made a significant impact in further division of the nation and ultimate Civil
War. In the 1853 writing of Senator John Calhoun (Doc E), Calhoun argues a state’s
constitutional right to secede, signifying a new progression in southern upset and
the eminent threat of a breaking Union. Such claim took place just prior to the
passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act- starting an era of tension and collapse. The
1861 “First Inaugural Address” of Abraham Lincoln (Doc F) stating the legal and
constitutional support of America’s continued Union reflected upon the possibility
that Civil War was not inevitable, even with the formation of the Confederation. This
thought was however argued by the South, who feared Republican political control,
despite Lincoln’s acceptance of slavery in existing states. The secondary source map
of Doc J depicts the affliction of each state and territory regarding slavery at the time
of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, displaying the major effect on political balance that
would occur depending on the choice of whether Kansas and Nebraska remained
free or slave. The Act ultimately caused the disintegration of the Whig party and
formation of the Republicans-forming political parties based on slavery and
geographic location, as shown in the 1860 election result map (Doc N). Additionally,
this intensity is shown in the 1856 cartoon by Henry Peters (Doc K), illustrating the
caning of Charles Summers over the Kansas-Nebraska Act, demonstrating the
government in deep division and beginning to crumble as a direct result of slavery’s
central role in politics.
Lastly, the changing definition of freedom, which questioned slavery’s
existence in America split the country in its core ideals and drove the South to
secession. The 1857 Dred Scott ruling by Roger Taney (Doc L) demonstrated the
idea that slaves were not people but property, making government attempts to stop
its expansion, the Republican Party platform, unconstitutional. “The Meaning of July
Fourth for the Negro” (Doc G) delivered by Frederick Douglass on July 5th, 1852 in
New York argues the irony of freedom celebrations with the existence of slavery,
demonstrating the differing ideas of American freedom. At this point, American
South was the largest and most dominant region still operating under slavery in the
western world, generating a great questioning of the foundations of our nation’s
motives of freedom. Describing the raid by John Brown on October 16, 1859, “The
Reaction to John Brown” by Gerald Danzer (Doc I) exemplifies and explains the
effect of and intensified debate over slavery and how the John Brown raid at
Harper’s Ferry revealed and further divided the country sectionally as Brown
served as a martyr for the northern cause. “Cannibals All!”, published in 1857 (Doc
H), George Fitzhugh argues that slaves of the South enjoy more freedom than the
laborer of the North, illustrating the growing debate over the meaning of freedom
and most effect system of labor. This highlights a larger debate over free labor vs
slave power and the realization across the country that the two couldn’t coexist. In
Lincoln’s 1858 address accepting his Senate nomination (Doc M), he illustrates the
development of the country into one so deeply divided that a conflict must be met.
This conflict was ultimately met and the differing economics of cotton and
industry, slavery’s increased place in politics, and a revolving idea of freedom and
how slavery fits into this idea caused the south to secede from the Union and the
1861 beginning of Civil War.