Colonial to 1877 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Colonial to 1877 - Essay Example Slavery remained legal in the South while it was illegal in the North. Few Northerners actively opposed the practice though. The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 began a series of events which resulted ultimately in war. The Northwest Ordinance was an act of Congress of the federation and essentially declared that the land north of the Ohio River and East of the Mississippi River, would in fact become a part of the United States as well as become settled. Additionally, the ordinance established an area where slavery was illegal, therefore causing uprising from states south of the Ordinance. The Ohio River would become the boundary line. The next event to cause a disturbance between the North and the South was the Missouri Compromise of1820. This established slavery regulations within the Western Territories. It also made slavery illegal in the Louisiana Territory but allowed it to remain legal within the Missouri Territory. Political ramifications of the compromise served to introduce the idea of democrats and republicans. The compromise had established clear boundaries between North and South and would eventually push the two halves into war. In the meantime, the Mexican-American War was on the horizon as America had annexed the Texas territory from Mexico. The conflict lasted from 1846 to 1848. Most of the Southern States at the time, embraced the idea of Manifest Destiny as well as the idea of acquiring more land in the spirit of slavery expansion. Manifest Destiny was the notion that the United States was destined to claim the territory from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Seaboard. This is precisely why many were in favor of the Mexican-American war and also why the conflict began. Because of so much political and social unrest, the Compromise of 1850 was drafted. This series of bills sought to create resolve over the issue of slavery as well as the Mexican-American War. This compromise served to avoid an immediate