5th Grade
Social Studies Weekly
week 15
The Roots of Conflict
People who wanted to live in a democratic country founded the United States of America. They wanted a nation in which
the people made decisions about who would lead the government and how the leaders would operate it.
At the Constitutional Convention in 1787, delegates spent a great deal of time planning how the government of the United
States would work best. Not everyone agreed. The Founding Fathers disagreed about the amount of power the federal
government should have. The Constitution cleared matters up a bit. It explained how the rights and responsibilities of the
federal government differ from those of state governments.
Members of the Federalist party supported the idea of a strong central government. Members of another political party,
the Democratic-Republicans, believed that states had the right to nullify (cancel or declare invalid) federal laws they
believed were unconstitutional. They thought this allowed states the right to declare laws unacceptable.
At the beginning of the 19th century, many Southern states believed the federal government was too involved in states'
business. They were especially concerned that the federal government might try to control slavery in the South.
Southerners also accused the government of favoring the North. Tariffs (import/export taxes) helped the Northern
manufacturing economy. Southerners felt the federal government was forgetting them.
As time went on, great differences were seen between the North and South. The economies of the two were different. The
North made money in industry, while the South benefited from an agricultural economy. Most of the population in the
North lived in large cities. The people in the South mostly lived on farms or in small towns. Many people in the North
supported a strong federal government while most Southerners believed each state should have the right to make certain
decisions for itself. The differences became more noticeable as the century went on. Soon it seemed that there could be no
peaceful agreement or compromise between the North and the South. Would the disagreements lead to war?
Agriculture a Way of Life for Fewer in the U.S.
When the United States began, most of its people were farmers. In 1860, the population of the United States was about 31
million. Almost half of that population listed their occupation (job) as "farmer" that year. Today, less than two percent of
people earn their family's money by farming. There are about the same number of farms in the United States today as
there were in 1860. This is very unusual because the total population has grown to well over 300 million people. Why do
so few people choose agriculture as a way of life today? There are several important reasons.
Farming today involves a lot of work. With so many people to feed, farmers must operate their businesses with great care.
Farmers say it takes a lot more than planting seeds to own a successful farm. The work is long and hard. Farmers must
make many business decisions about the type of crops to plant, the machines to buy, how to pay taxes and how to meet
payroll for the workers to run the farm. Crops often fail because of weather and other unpredictable situations. Farmers
have to take many risks. Some seasons they make money and some seasons they don't. Many people have tried to make a
living by farming but later decided it isn't the life they want. However, the nation has plenty of excellent farm products.
The U.S. is lucky to have enough farmers to produce the goods our nation needs to survive.
Compromises and Kansas
The Missouri Compromise of 1820
The United States was still a young nation when President Thomas Jefferson approved the Louisiana Purchase in 1803.
The land purchased from France nearly doubled the size of the country and included the Missouri Territory. In 1819, the
Missouri Territory asked to become a new state. Immediately people became concerned. But why?
Missouri's state constitution allowed slavery. If it were to be admitted as a state, there would be 12 slave states and 11 free
states. A free state was one in which slavery was not allowed. If Missouri became a new state, the balance of the United
States' Congress would lean towards the South and slavery. People in the North were afraid of what might happen to the
country if the slave states had more power than free states.
5th Grade
Social Studies Weekly
week 15
There were many debates in Congress about what to do with Missouri. Many people feared the United States might break
apart. Then a senator from Kentucky named Henry Clay suggested a compromise. The situation could be settled if both
sides gave up some of their demands.
Missouri was allowed to join the U.S. as a slave state. At the same time, Maine would also be admitted as a free state. The
number of free and slave states would remain equal. Clay's plan also included an imaginary borderline across the western
U.S. at 36 degrees 30 minutes north latitude, Missouri's southern boundary. Slavery wouldn't be allowed north of this line
except in Missouri.
Clay's plan became known as the Missouri Compromise. The new plan began to make the people in the U.S. feel better,
and it gave them hope that the problems with slavery could be solved for good. However, some Southerners were still
concerned that Northerners might one day try to change the way they lived. For the next 30 years, it seemed the
compromise had worked.
The Compromise of 1850
At the end of the Mexican-American War, the United States gained a large amount of land from Mexico in the West and
Southwest regions. California was part of this land. In 1849, California asked to be admitted to the United States as a free
state.
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Social Studies Weekly
week 15
Once again it was clear that a compromise would have to be reached. By that time, 15 states were free and 15 were slave
states. Adding California would give more power to the North in Congress. In addition, much of California's land was
below the 36 30 Missouri Compromise line. Remember that slavery was allowed south of the line. Some Southerners
began to think about withdrawing their states from the Union if California joined as a free state.
Senator Clay from Kentucky came up with a way to settle the differences again. Clay offered several plans for new laws
to help balance the power. First, California would be admitted as a free state. Second, people would not be allowed to sell
slaves in Washington, D.C. These laws would make Northerners happy.
At the same time, people in Utah and New Mexico would be allowed to decide for themselves whether or not to allow
slavery in their territories. In addition, Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Law. Northern officials would have to help
Southerners capture fugitive (runaway) slaves. These two laws were aimed at pleasing Southerners.
The Compromise of 1850 was passed into law in September of that year. Even though Senator Clay and the other leaders
worked to try and find a way to solve the differences the country had, they weren't successful. Many people in both parts
of the country were more upset than ever. Southerners thought the North was trying to destroy slavery. Northerners
throughout the South would never be happy until slavery had spread to every state. Soon it became clear that the
differences between the two groups were going to be difficult to overcome peacefully.
Kansas: The End of Compromise
The Compromise of 1850 did very little to bring peace to the nation. Instead, the compromise seemed to fuel the fire. This
fire began to grow even stronger when the territories of Kansas and Nebraska wanted to become states.
Both territories were north of the 36 30 Missouri Compromise line. According to law, both new states would be free from
slavery. However, in 1854 a senator from Illinois named Stephen Douglas suggested a troubling plan. He believed the
people in Kansas and Nebraska should be allowed to decide for themselves if they wanted to allow slavery. Congress
agreed with Douglas, and the Kansas-Nebraska Act became a law.
Suddenly, the southern territory of Kansas became a battleground over states' rights and slavery. People who supported
(approved of) slavery rushed to Kansas. People who opposed (were against) slavery also rushed there to voice their
beliefs. Both groups wanted to vote in the election that would make the final slavery decision. The people argued with
both words and weapons.
On election day, voters in Kansas approved a constitution that allowed slavery. The anti-slavery leaders believed the
election had not been fair. Over 6,000 people had voted, but Kansas had only 3,000 voters. It was clear that some people
who did not really live in Kansas had voted. The "free-soilers" (people who did not support slavery) set up their own
political party in protest.
People on both sides of the issue became violent. There was fighting throughout the spring and summer of 1856. The
issue was finally resolved (settled) when another election was held. In January 1861, Kansas was added as a free state.
Neither the North nor the South was satisfied. The nation was now heading toward a war, one side against the other.
Abolitionists Build an Underground Railroad
Many Southerners felt that slavery was a necessary part of the Southern way of life and economy. Plantation owners used
slaves to run their large farms. On the other side, many Northerners believed slavery was wrong. Northern abolitionists
felt very strongly that all slavery should be abolished (ended) forever.
Some of those against slavery got together and organized the Underground Railroad. The Underground Railroad wasn't a
real railroad and it wasn't underneath the ground. Instead, it was a name for a system of people and homes that secretly
helped slaves escape to free states. Homes were known as stations. At each station, there were people, or "conductors," to
5th Grade
Social Studies Weekly
week 15
help the slaves hide. They gave slaves food, clothing and a place to sleep. When it was safe, the conductors helped the
slaves find their way to the next station.
Many slaves traveled from station to station until they felt they were safe. The Fugitive Slave Act allowed runaway slaves
to be tracked into Northern states. Some of the slaves had to travel all the way to Canada before they felt they were free
from slavery forever.
Most Northerners were not part of the Underground Railroad, but many Southerners became distrustful of them. Each
group felt the other's ideas about slavery were wrong.
1860: The Election of Abraham Lincoln
By 1860, the United States was set to elect a new president. Northerners and Southerners both felt uneasy about how the
election might affect the nation. Southern congressmen made it clear that unless an "acceptable" man was elected, their
states would secede (withdraw from) the U.S.
The Republicans nominated (named as a candidate) a smart and thoughtful lawyer from Illinois named Abraham Lincoln.
Lincoln was against slavery. He promised he would leave slavery alone in the South but would not let it spread into new
territories. Most Southerners did not vote for Lincoln because of his views on slavery.
The Democratic Party seemed to fall apart in the months before the election. The party split into two separate groups. One
group nominated the vice president of the United States, John C. Breckinridge, to be the next president. The other
Democratic group wanted Senator Stephen Douglas of Illinois to be the next top leader of the nation. Douglas had
previously run against Abraham Lincoln in a race for the Illinois Senate. Douglas argued with Lincoln and said that
people in each state had the right to decide for themselves if they wanted to allow slavery. While Douglas won that
election, Lincoln became well known as someone who would stand up against slavery.
On Nov. 6, 1860, Abraham Lincoln won the presidential election. Interestingly, the other two candidates outnumbered the
peoples' vote for Lincoln, but Lincoln won the most votes from the Electoral College. He must have worried that the
majority, or most of the nation's people, had not voted for him. He was sworn in as the 16th president of the United States
of America. Lincoln's election was the last straw for some states. The end of the country as it had been known was near.