The Slave Trade Compromise In Bleeding Kansas

The institution of slavery was legal and eventually constitutional in the United States for 245 years. In that time, many compromises were made in the American government regarding slavery. This is particularly evident in the time period prior to 1854 in which the US government made a great deal of compromises in order to maintain the stability of American society. As 1854 began, tensions continued to rise surrounding the topic of slavery. Ultimately, these tensions lead to horrific violence within the nation, beginning with the events of Bleeding Kansas. Bleeding Kansas catalysed a violent reaction that eventually manifested itself as the American Civil War, beginning in 1861. This progression from compromise to violence in response to a changing

society has greatly impacted America. The events of Bleeding Kansas signified a shift from compromise over the issue of slavery towards violence, which would take seven years to culminate in the Civil War.
Prior to the Civil War, the American economy relied on slavery. African slavery began in what is now the United States when slaves were imported from Africa to Jamestown, Virginia, in 1619. Their purpose was to aid in the production of cash crops, such as tobacco. Once America was established as a country, slavery continued to spread, but was primarily present in the Southern states due to their agricultural industry. This ultimately caused the divide that lead to the secession of the Southern states from the Union and the bombardment of Fort Sumter.. However, before the beginning of the Civil War Bleeding Kansas occurred. Bleeding Kansas was a series of violent political confrontations and skirmishes involving anti-slavery "Free-Staters" and pro-slavery "Border Ruffians" or "Southern Yankees". These violent confrontations occurred primarily in Kansas between 1854 and 1861. The violence then continued with the commencement of the American Civil War, which was fought between the years of 1861 and 1865. The Union, the North, fought fiercely against the Confederacy, the South, primarily over slavery and whether or not it should be allowed to continue in the United States.
Before to 1854, the United States of America followed a strict policy of compromise in order to stave off crisis.

The Constitutional Convention, held in Philadelphia in the autumn of 1787, is a strong example of compromise during this time period. The Constitutional Convention created many noteworthy compromises such as the Connecticut Compromise, the Three-Fifths Compromise, the Commerce compromise, the Slave Trade Compromise, and the Compromise on Executive Elections (Roche). These compromises are highly notable due to their influence throughout the rest of American history. And whilst the men involved in the Constitutional Convention were highly motivated to further their own ideas, their willingness to compromise exemplified the desire to compromise for the benefit of the new nation during this time period. The idea of compromise continued on with the Missouri Compromise of 1820. Devised by Henry Clay, it was implemented to regulate slavery in the western territories and prohibit it north of the parallel 36°30′ (“Missouri Compromise of 1820”). The exception to this was the state of Missouri, which was admitted to the union as a slave state, despite being north of the line. The Missouri Compromise was influential as it lessened the tensions rising between the abolitionists in the northern states and the pro-slavery supporters in the southern states. Whilst the Missouri Compromise was effective for a number of years, it did not entirely quell the tensions surrounding

slavery in the United States. The Compromise of 1850 was implemented to defuse a four-year strain between slave and free states regarding the status of territories acquired during the Mexican–American War (Cole). The compromise introduced the idea of popular sovereignty. According to popular sovereignty, the residents of a territory would be the ones to decide whether or not that territory would be slave or free. It appealed to America's tradition of compromise over the issue of slavery. However, in time this would increase tensions in the United States. Despite the efforts of its framers, the Compromise of 1850 did not diffuse the tensions that would ultimately lead to the Civil War.
The events of Bleeding Kansas are representative of the increasing futility of compromise regarding the issue of slavery. The Kansas-Nebraska Act, passed by Congress on May 30th of 1854, repealed the Missouri Compromise (“Kansas-Nebraska Act”). However, it continued the idea of popular sovereignty that contributed to the theme of compromise in American history. Sadly, the compromise failed to quell the tensions over slavery and ultimately caused Kansas to become a battleground for issues regarding slavery. Evidently, compromise was no longer as effective as it had once been, a development seen especially in the events of the Pottawatomie Massacre. The massacre took place from May 24th to May 25th, 1856 and is considered one of the most noted massacres that occurred during the battles of Bleeding Kansas. It resulted in the death of five proslavery men, which caused outrage amongst the slavery supporters (McPherson). The Pottawatomie Massacre began to illuminate the flaws in the idea of compromise. John Brown was incredibly influential in the violent movement of abolition, and away from compromise. His leadership in the Pottawatomie Massacre and the raid on Harpers Ferry during Bleeding Kansas showed, clearly, that compromise was no longer an option. On the day of his execution, on December 2nd, 1859 John Brown wrote; “I, John Brown, am now quite certain that the crimes of this guilty land will never be purged away but with blood” (Oates). John Brown's words about the idea of compromise further exemplified that compromise had ceased to be effective.
The events of the Civil War show the direct negative, impact of Bleeding Kansas on the idea of compromise.

Bleeding Kansas, instigated a violent reaction to slavery due to the inefficiency of compromise previously implemented. The First Battle of Bull Run, the first major battle of the Civil War, continued to show the lack of effectiveness of comprise. The battle resulted in the death of 460 Union soldiers and 387 Confederate soldiers. It was the first of fifty major battles to occur during the Civil War (“Bull Run”). The violent beginning of the Civil War proved to all witnesses that compromise was no longer a valid option in American society. As the Civil War waged on and battles continued, the death toll of American soldiers grew. The three day long Battle of Gettysburg resulted in the death of 50,000 Americans (“Gettysburg”). This battle was highly significant due to high death toll and how it impacted the idea of compromise. In order to stop the battle and the rising death toll the Confederacy removed their troops from the battlefield, as they no longer had the morale, or men, to fight. After the Battle of Gettysburg, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. It stated that from the 1st of January 1863, all slaves, in the states that had attempted to secede, would be considered free under the eyes of the United States government (“The Emancipation Proclamation”). As the Emancipation Proclamation granted full freedom to slaves it further proved that

the idea of compromise had faded significantly.
Prior to the events of Bleeding Kansas that begun in 1854, the United States followed a strict policy of compromise in regards to its political decisions. Being a relatively newly founded country, a great deal of care was given towards pleasing the citizens of the United States, through compromise, in order to maintain a stable society. This is specifically evident in the Constitutional Convention of 1787, the Missouri Compromise of 1820, and the Compromise of 1850. These events helped to maintain the stability of American society for a time. However, as the nation developed further there became apparent divides on many matters, but mainly over slavery. This resulted in the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, the Pottawatomie Massacre of 1856, which was one of many violent battles during Bleeding Kansas, and negative sentiments regarding compromise expressed through violence. It became increasingly apparent during this time period that compromise was no longer a viable option, especially in regards towards the issue of slavery. The Civil War that commenced at the end of Bleeding Kansas, in 1861, further proved this idea. The violent battles that included the First Battle of Bull Run and the Battle of Gettysburg, destroyed morale as well as the American population. The Civil War ultimately lead to a proclamation from the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, declaring that slavery, in that states that had seceded, was to be outlawed on a federal level. The idea of compromise lay in the trenches beside the lost soldiers.