Ordeal by Fire The Civil War and Reconstruction by James McPherson and Essay

Ordeal by Fire The Civil War and Reconstruction by James McPherson and James Hogue - Essay Example The Free Soil Party argued that unlike in slavery, a free society provided greater moral and economic gains. In light of the clear cut agenda, the party worked to press for a repeal of existing slavery laws in Ohio, and New York among other states (Byrne, 2006). The Wilmot Proviso is one of the key historical developments that led to the American Civil War. The proviso would have outlawed slavery in all the new areas annexed from Mexico or from any other place later on. However, conservatism elements were eventually pitted against the advocates for a free society during the American Civil War. The Compromise of 1850 comprised a set of legislation endorsed by Congress in an effort to resolve slavery, which threatened to divide the country (Byrne, 2006). Despite the incorporation of controversial clauses in it, it was successfully passed by Congress and immediately united the country on slavery (Mitchell, 2001). The law kept the Union stronger by stemming cases of an imminent split, thus delaying the eruption of the Civil War by a decade. The Kansas–Nebraska Act, enacted in 1854 established Kansas and Nebraska states. This expanded the American territory for civilian occupation and effectively repealed the Missouri Compromise, which had been adopted three decades earlier. The new law granted people the authority to decide slavery issues. As a result, pro-slavery settlers came from Missouri to Kansas to exercise this right. Their political clout in territorial polls was usually boosted by Missourians who made their way into Kansas mainly to take part in the polls. They created strong movements such as the Blue Lodges. Eventually, abolitionist settlers arrived in Kansas from the East with the sole aim of freeing the state of slavery.