Mexican American War Dbq

The Mexican American War became a turning point in our history that lead to a deadly war between North and South in the United States, and caused change to a great extent. During 1846-1848, before and after the Mexican American War, many ideas began to change in the United States. Although the United States continued to grow financially the treatment of African Americans prolonged despite the attempts of the Missouri Compromise, the Compromise of 1850 and the efforts of numerous reformers in the north such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, William Lloyd Garrison and Frederick Douglass to preserve the Union.

The Missouri Compromise induced the greatest amount of change in the United States by creating the sectionalism that would divide society during the Civil War. Resulting from the Louisiana purchase, new states began organizing themselves as “slave” or “free”. When Vermont joined the Union as a “free” state, Kentucky became a “slave” state. Congress continued to try and keep the sectional balance between north and south but it was difficult because the North continued to

grow at a rapid rate due to industrialization. By 1818 the North held the majority in the House of Representatives and the votes remained 11 slave and 11 free until Missouri applied for statehood. This caused many in the North to become upset as it would disrupt the balance held in Congress. James Tallmadge tried to solve this problem by creating an amendment that would prohibit the further introduction of slaves into Missouri, and required that the children of slaves in Missouri be emancipated at the age of 25. This angered white southerners in the senate because they saw it as the first step in a northern effort to abolish slavery and the amendment didn’t pass. However, Henry Clay created a compromise that put ideas of seceding in a gridlock. The Missouri Compromise stated that Missouri could be admitted as a “slave” state as long as Maine was admitted as a “free” state and any other territory collected from the Louisiana purchase that sat above the 36 30 line would be “free” states.

The Missouri Compromise caused sectional feelings on slavery to subside until the end of the Mexican American War when the United States collected California, New Mexico and Texas as new territories. New States meant new potential to be “free” or “slave” which would once again upset the balance congress strived to create. When Taylor agreed to allow California to be a “free” state, “fire-eaters” in the south began talking about secession which caused Henry Clay to write another compromise. Under this agreement California would admitted as a “free” state in the Union and would also allow Utah and New Mexico to decide themselves whether or not they wanted to be “slave” states or “free” states. To appease southerners the compromise banned the slave trade in the District of Columbia, but the US also adopted a new Fugitive Slave law that would be enforced rigorously. This is why the Mexican American War is a “turning point” in US history because without the US gaining the new territories from the war, sectionalism might have disappeared all together and the Civil War might have never happened.

The efforts displayed by northern abolitionists changed the way many saw slavery.

The Second Great Awakening influenced religious revivals and soon christians began to see slavery as a sin. This influenced Transcendentalists like Ralph Waldo Emerson to write essays explaining why the US needed to create an American culture of “self-reliance” and independent ideas. These ideas helped Emerson become a critic of slavery later in the 1850’s. Other abolitionists such as William Lloyd Garrison decided to publish an abolitionist newspaper called the Liberator which advocated immediate abolition in slave states. Former slaves such as Frederick Douglass joined the conversation by speaking about the brutality and degradation from his experience. The social aspects of the US were greatly changed in the north and south form these abolitionists, which ultimately lead to the abolishment of slavery after the Civil

War.

Ideas and opinions on the treatment of African Americans changed to a great extent before and after 1846-1848 as different conflicts arose in history. As new territories became states congress tried to keep the balance between “slave” and “free” equal in order to preserve the Union. First, the Missouri compromise was written to appease both north and south allowing states below the 36 30 line to keep their slaves. During this time of “peace”, abolitionists in the north influenced by the Second Great Awakening began to speak out against slavery calling it a “sin” and that slavery needed to be terminated immediately in the south. Sectionalistic opinions on slavery died down for a small period of time until the Mexican American War when a turning point changed the balance in congress yet again as new states began applying to be accepted into the Union. Tempers began to flare causing talks of secession, but the Compromise of 1850 introduced new fugitive slave laws that appeased the south. The Mexican American War became a turning point in our history that lead to a deadly war between north and south in the United States, and caused change to a great extent.