Compromise in the Pre-Civil War Era APUSH DBQ
Ever since declaring its independence from Britain, America has developed on the foundation of compromise. Upon the drafting of the Constitution, the Founding Fathers were succumbed to compromise in order to incorporate the needs of the different parts of the nation. During the early eighteenth century, Americans achieved reconciliation of political disputes, predominately between the North and the South, through compromise. By 1860 this was no longer feasible and the nation was faced with disheartening threats to its unity. Sectionalism in the Union was further increased. Tariffs were commonly accepted by one part of the nation and debated by the other. The economy of the North and South was becoming increasingly divergent- the North was industrializing while the South continued to rely on slavery for agriculture. Tensions surrounding slavery became politically and socially difficult to deal with. While the North began to see the immorality of slavery, the South retained the institution, especially with the cash crop cotton, when the southern part of the nation relied even more heavily on slavery. As the North and the South debated on which states would be free and which would allow slavery, their relationship became more and more strained. In the early eighteenth century, Americans achieved reconciliation of political disputes through compromise. In 1819, Missouri admitted to become a slave state. This threatened to upset the balance of free and slave states. To contain peace, Congress passed the Missouri Compromise in 1820 which admitted Maine as a free state, Missouri as a slave state, and prohibited slavery north of the 36°30 latitude line. In 1832, a protectionist tariff was passed, lowering the preceding Tariff of 1828. The South disliked the “Tariff of Abominations” because they were obligated to pay an increased amount on products yet they had no industry. The Tariff of 1832 still did not appease the South. Under the influence of John Calhoun who