The Proslavery Argument, Term Paper Example

Many reasons can be used to explain the rise of partisan politics. Amongst the contributing factors of the rise of partisan politics are sentiment disparities and arguments regarding state governance (Ura & Ellis, 2012). It also occurred due to conflicts that appeared during the Early Republic. There were different factions which existed where each had their unique set of beliefs on how the new form of government was supposed to be run. The camps included the Federalists and the Republicans also referred to as the Democratic-Republicans. The biggest issue that these alliances faced was on the implementation of the new constitution where both of them had different views with enough claim to support their point.

Alexander Hamilton and John Adams were the head of Federalists, and they were advocating for the removal of original Articles of Confederation because they were supporting the new Constitution. They believed a new constitution would offer a more authoritative federal government which would reinforce a strong and united country (WGU, 2016). The new constitution would also offer new forms of leadership roles (White, 1971). The two leaders hold that the government could only accomplish the balance if they promoted the personal interest of the elite farmers and merchants. They also believed that the state has only helped in the well-being of a few because this would lead to a stronger nation.

The Democrats were supporting the idea of expanding westward which simply implied acquiring new land. However, the Whigs were not fully supporting the concept of westward expansion because they thought that it would be essential to use the resources for improving commercial growth in the established towns. Their thoughts about the financial growth relied on the activist state, but the Democrats reinforced a regulated state (Norton, 2015). They trusted a lot in improvement and the ability to accomplish perfection where they desired a gradual transformation to factors of the community such as the school systems, penitentiary, and drug abuse. However, the Democrats did not approve the Whigs ideal of reforms as they believed it was a threat to the will of the people (Norton, 2015).

Henry Clay established the Whig party, and he was not supporting the Democratic President known as Andrew Jackson who was responsible for various government policies. The Whig party was a presentation of good balance between government and the expansion of boundaries as well as national unity to meet federal needs (Elofson, 2014). There were any other leaders in this party, for example, Daniel Webster, Abraham Lincoln, and Harrison William Henry. The constituent of the party encompassed members of the evangelical churches, the middle and the upper classes and the commercial and manufacturing centers. They advocated for a centralized bank, construction of infrastructures and canal systems. Andrew Jackson led the Democrats with the help of other leaders including James K. Polk, Thomas Hart, and Stephen A. Douglas. The Democrats constituents were composed of Irish and German Catholics and other members of the lower social class (Norton, 2015). They were supporting land expansion and selling land at low cost.

The emergence of the public interest in the United States politics was because of the introduction of the Jacksonian Democracy. The Jacksonian Democracy focused more on criticizing the federal regulations that did not focus more on political uproar (Ellis, 1989). The election of 1828 saw an increase in the number of voters and the voter turnout also increased which, shown through demonstration during the election period.  Markedly, it is because of the rise in rallies, magazines devoted to the political views of their parties and voter loyalty to a given party (Boundless, 2016). During the 1840s, the political campaigns were shifted to the common man which raised the number of individuals voting as compared to how it was in the past. The Whigs were obliged to influence individuals in the North, for example, the individuals of the New England and the upper Midwest who included the wealthy business owners and the master mechanics. The Democrats assisted in influencing individuals in the South and West who included the laborers.

During the 1830’s and the 1860’s, the proslavery was considered to be very strong, and it was being supported by James Henry Hammond and John C. Calhoun (Boundless, 2016). The slaveholders in the south region discussion protected the interests of the large farm owners so that they will be as stacked by the abolitionists, the lower class individuals and non-white people to develop a more stable social class system. The southern proslavery idealist argued that the lower social class was mainly affected which would not make the community stronger (Boundless, 2016). The individuals who advocated for slavery hold that slavery was necessary for the slaves, slaveholders and the community. They believed that the abolition of slavery would impact their lives negatively because plantation owners depended on the use of slave labor for financial benefit.  There were many recognized members of the society from different backgrounds who formed part of the abolition discussion. Some of them included the Quakers who believed that it was the will of God that every individual is equal among them was an antislavery activist known as Harriet Stowe and a former slave known as Frederick Douglass (Ohio History Central. n.d.).

The westward expansion resulted in a strained interrelationship between the North and the South because they all had a different sentiment as to how it should be tackled. The North was not pleased as they believed that the South ideals would be forced on the whole Union and their primary issue was that locations in the expansion would improve and permit the act of slavery. The Congress hoped that they would avoid battle thus deduced different compromises to talk about the situation which resulted in more division between the North and South over the matters of slavery in the expansion.  The South required slavery to continue because they depended on it to harvest their crops with free labor. However, the North did not use slaves in any way because there was a substantial population of immigrants who offered the required labor needed in farms.  Because of the westward expansion, there was an increase in tension between the North and the South. Wilmot Proviso noted that either of the slavery acts, or an involuntary servitude would ever exist (UShistory, 2018).

The initial main event which also led to the Civil War included the Dred Scott case where Dred Scott and his wife were suing for their liberation. Both thought that their place of residence was an assurance of liberation (Gunderson, 2004). Consequently, the Supreme Court said the Congress had no permission of determining the freedom of slaves and that they were not liberated even though they were residing in a free land (Norton, 2015). The ruling by the Supreme Court resulted in the uproar between the anti-slavery society and the African individuals who believed that the decision has now improved slavery. It made the abolitionists to form alliances and assist Abraham Lincoln to win his presidential election in 1860.

References

Boundless. (2016b, November 20). The Proslavery Argument. Retrieved from https://www.boundless.com/u-s-history/textbooks/boundless-u-s-history-textbook/slavery-in-the-antebellum-u-s-1820-1840-16/the-antebellum-south-121/the-proslavery-argument-647-9459/

Ellis, R. E. (1989). The Union at risk: Jacksonian democracy, states’ rights, and the nullification crisis. New York: Oxford University Press.

Elofson, W. M. (2014). The Rockingham Connection and the Second Founding of the Whig Party, 1768-1773. Montreal: McGill-Queens University Press.

Gunderson, C. G. (2004). The Dred Scott decision. Edina, MN: Abdo Pub.

Norton, M.B. (2015). A People and a Nation. Retrieved from https://lrps.wgu.edu/provision/53540310

Ohio History Central. (n.d.). American Anti-Slavery Society. Retrieved from http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/American_Anti-Slavery_Society

Ura, J. D., & Ellis, C. R. (2012). Partisan Moods: Polarization and the Dynamics of Mass Party Preferences. The Journal of Politics, 74(1), 277-291. doi:10.1017/s0022381611001587

UShistory. (2018). Wilmot’s Proviso. Retrieved from http://www.ushistory.org/us/30a.asp

WGU. (2016). First Party System. [Video]. Retrieved from https://wgu.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=2ffee8e8-0522-4053-af44-ba8922ef25f4

White, M. (1971). Philosophy, The Federalist, and the Constitution. Oxford.: Oxford University Press.