Martig
Period 2
DBQ
In 1782 Americans won their independence from Britain in the American Revolution. After the colonies won their independence, Americans created the Constitution. Its purpose was to replace the Articles of Confederation and solve its problems and more importantly to bring the states together under a single document creating a stronger union of all the states. During the period of 1850, until 1861 when the Confederate States of America was formed, the union was clearly divided between the North and South.
Although the Constitution was not the only factor leading to sectional tension in America, there are many strong points in the North and South favoring the statement, "By the 1850's the Constitution, originally framed as an instrument of national unity, had become a source of sectional discord and tension and ultimately contributed to the failure of the union it had created."It is known that the union did not last, for there was the Civil War. If the majority of congressional leaders could agree on what the constitution implied, then there probably would not have been a civil war. From several of the documents, there are arguments about what the constitution states. “To the Argument, that the word ‘slaves’ and ‘slavery’ are not to be found in The Constitution, and therefore it was never intended to give any protection or countenance to the slave system, it is sufficient to reply, that no such words are continued in the instrument, other words were used, intelligently and specifically, to meet the necessities of slavery.” Ralph Waldo Emerson, address on the fugitive slave law. This indicated the constitution can be interpreted differently, and when used with other pertinent documents, can be incongruous. Those views that differentiated were of those in the North and South.
The Constitution can be interpreted in many different ways, which leads to sectional discord and tension. For many reasons, the South evidently did not