Westward Expansion Was One of The Significant Contributors of Growing Tension

Between the Election of 1800 (also known as the ‘ Revolution of 1800′) and the Compromise of 1850, Westward Expansion was high and very controversial. Tensions between the North and the South began to rise as the question’ slavery or not? ‘ was asked as more of the people settled in the West. With new land, new people, and new ideas floating around, the North and the South began to break.

First President Thomas Jefferson purchased the Lousiana Purchase of 1803 from Napoleon Bonaparte for 15 million dollars. The purchase not only led to the political division between the North and the South of the United States but also led to the significant question of slavery, which also was a breaking factor between the North and the West. Since new land meant new orders and new laws, many new ideas for what the area might be used for arose. Out of these ideas came different compromises, including the Missouri Compromise of 1820.

The Missouri Compromise of 1820 was very controversial. Since Missouri wanted to become a Slave State, southern people automatically supported it. However, making Missouri, a Slave State would upset the ratio of free to slave states in the U.S. A compromise had to be reached to make both sides happy. In the end, Missouri was admitted as a slave state, and Maine was approved as a free state. It also led to the new creation of laws at West. From then on ( until the compromise was’ thrown out’), any state above Missouri border was to be free in the West, while any state below could be a slave.

When the Missouri Compromise began to be questioned with the Kansas-Nebraska Act, changes for Westward land expansion had to come about again. This Act led to a significant controversy between the North and the South because of popular sovereignty – to allow states to vote to see whether or not they should be admitted as slave or free. Tensions were how almost to be a boiling point, and were beginning to become more prominent.

Lastly, the compromise of 1850, written by Stephan Douglas was another major benefactor from Westward Expansion causing tension in the United States. Even though it ended in an omnibus Bill, it was still very controversial to the South and the North. It held more of a northern opinion to the compromise, which angered southern people. Also, the idea of popular sovereignty was questioned and made southern people even angrier.

Westward Expansion was one of the significant contributors of growing tension between the North and the South because it was so controversial, with many compromises made to try and keep everybody happy and also to help out the West, it may make tension worse.

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