The Difference in the Northern and Southern Economic Muscle The northern …show more content…
Scott’s master, Doctor Emerson had died in Missouri. Before his death, Scott, his wife, and their master had also lived in Illinois and Wisconsin. Scott applied for his, and his wife's freedom but the Supreme Court ruled that they were still slaves and the territorial legislature of Wisconsin that made them free persons because they had previously lived there could not change federal laws (Carnes & Garraty, 2012). To the northern states, the decision proved that the southern states were using aggressive means to ensure the institution of slavery existed. The situation just compounded the conflict between the two …show more content…
He negotiated the Act that opened Kansas and Nebraska territories for settlement. It also advocated for territorial legislatures to have the power to decide on all slavery issues (Carnes & Garraty, 2012, p.354). The Act repealed the Missouri Compromise. Northern states vehemently opposed the Act as it led to an increase in the locality of slavery. In passing the law, the nation took the greatest single step in its march towards the abyss of civil war. The northern states reacted by forming a nationwide political party that they would use to advocate their views.
The Republican Party The party was a product of the fallout over the Kansas-Nebraska legislation. All the opponents of the law joined forces and formed the Republican Party. It presented itself as the party of freedom. Although the party members did not consider themselves abolitionists, they advocated that the southerners keep slavery away from their states. In the elections held in 1854, the party won over a hundred House of Representatives seats (Etcheson, 2005, p.501). The situation infuriated the southern states who were afraid of the northern states gaining control of the government.
Bleeding