The Missouri Compromise

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Pages: 3

Slavery contributed to the growing tension between the North and South. Many events explain the rage between North and South, and how they interacted with each other.

The Missouri Compromise was a compromise between the North and South. The compromise allowed a new state to enter as a free state if it was above the northern border of Arkansas. If a new state was added above the northern border of Arkansas, a state had to come into the south as a slave state if it was under the northern border of Arkansas. The compromise was to help keep the balance in the states equal. The North and South were both upset for different reasons. The North was angry because Congress had allowed slavery to expand into other states. The South was upset because
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The Compromise was supposed to give the supporters and opponents of slavery a part of what they wanted. The South was happy because they had finally been given their property rights. Unlike the South, the North were outraged because they felt that fugitive slaves were being deprived of their freedom. In 1852, Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote a novel about a young, enslaved man who was abused by his owner. Stowe was an abolitionist, and wrote this book with her first hand experience. Uncle Tom’s Cabin was the best-selling book of 1852, and opened up eyes of Northerns. Northerners realized that slavery was not just a political conflict.The Northerners felt that this was a human, moral problem facing every American . The Southerners had felt that it was propaganda, and the book didn’t give an accurate picture of the enslaved lives of African Americans .

On May 22, 1856, Senator Charles Sumner (anti-slavery) was attacked in the Senate Chamber by Preston Brooks (pro-slavery) after giving his speech, “The Crime Against Kansas.” In his speech, Sumner had declared Kansas a free state for slaves. Brooks was enraged byhis actions. As a result, Brooks nearly beat Sumner to death. The North felt that the incident just proved that slavery was brutal and inhuman . The South believed Sumner deserved being beaten. Southerners sent canes to Brooks to show their