How Did The United States Maintain The Balance Between The Northern And Southern States?

The American Civil War was an event that took place in 1861, while building the nation of the United States. During this time, slavery was very common among the Southerners; maintaining the balance between the slave and free states did not cause much commotion until after the Mexican-American War. Prior to the Mexican-American War, the United States purchased land from France, also known as the Louisiana Purchase. The United States came up with the Missouri Compromise as a solution. This ensured a balance between both the slave and free states in that territory. Because the Missouri Compromise did not apply to the new territory acquired from Mexico, it has created conflicts in what the United States should do with the new land. Still, many
Consequently, ten other states decided to join South Carolina in this secession. All of the states were southern, together they formed the Confederate States of America. This meant that they were against the abolishment of slavery as it would create negative impacts on their economy and lifestyle (“1861 | Time Line of the Civil War | Articles and Essays | Civil War Glass Negatives and Related Prints | Digital Collections,” n.d.). All of this is to say, the differentiating views between the Northern and Southern states led to the Civil War. Analyzing South Carolina’s secession declaration, South Carolina says that the Constitution left any rights that were not formally assigned to the states. This led to misinterpretation among the Southerners. Many also used this argument to defend the immoral acts of slavery (“The Declaration of Causes of Seceding States,” n.d.). With respect to the Northern states, their arguments were to bring the nation as one as the Constitution was to be interpreted with liberty and a union as one. The northern states did not want a division because of slavery, especially because it does not fit the lifestyle that Americans are supposed to