When the United States Constitution was ratified in 1787, it was meant to unite the colonies, protect the rights and liberties of American citizens, and establish laws for all to live by throughout the nation. It was looked upon as not only a legal bond, but a unifying document that epitomizes our country’s desire for “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.†But by the 1850's, it had begun to tear apart the Union it had at one point brought together. In this turbulent period of history, the issue of slavery was pulling the North and South farther and farther apart. The North fought to contain slavery, in the interest of balancing power in the Senate and the Electoral College, and abolitionists in the free states wanted to do away with slavery altogether. Southern interests leaned not only toward the continuation of slavery, but the spread of it. Since a slave counted for three fifths of a citizen, the several million slaves in the South meant more representatives in Congress, and more power for southern states. Because of it’s many interpretations, the Constitution had become a source of sectional discord and tension and ultimately contributed to the failure of the union it had created.
As shown in Document A, the Compromise of 1850 contributed to the disunity. While the Constitution should have been able to settle this conflict once and for all, it rather escalated tensions. It was too vague, and too open to interpretation to effectively solve the problem of slavery. The North felt that the Constitution protected the rights of all men, even slaves. The South, however, believed that it protected their rights. Because of the lack of information on slavery and succession in the Constitution, the United States lost it’s sense of unity.â€ÂTo the argument, that the words ‘slaves’ and ‘slavery’ are not to be found in the Constitution, and therefore that it was never intended to give any protection or countenance to the slave system...†(Document E). Although, “...other words were used, intelligently and specifically, to meet the necessities of slavery. The issue between the North and the South festered because of their different opinions and different analyzations of the Constitution and it’s provisions.
With the Compromise of 1850, the fugitive slave law was more strictly enforced. A reason for this was that many slave holders were losing money due to runaways. They also felt it was unfair for northerners to help slaves reach freedom, while those slaves belonged to them. Ralph Waldo Emerson, a Northerner, said that if an immoral law is made then it is a man’s job to break it†(Document D). Many Northerners felt that the fugitive slave law was kidnaping, and is therefore immoral. Emerson said, “As soon as the Constitution ordains an immoral law, it ordains disunion. The Union is at an end as soon as an immortal law is enacted.†Document C is a poster from 1851 cautioning colored people to watch out for the enforcement of the law. Policemen were acting as slave catches and kidnappers so the runaway slaves were returned to their masters. “...if you value your liberty and the welfare of the fugitives among you, shun them in every possible manner...†(Document C).
An anonymous Georgian in Document B explained that, “two Constitutional provisions are necessary to secure Southern rights upon this important question,-the recognition of slavery where the people choose it and the remedy for fugitive slaves...†(Document B). Popular sovereignty, a favored belief in the South, gave new territories their right to choose whether to allow slavery and also led to disunity. Since slavery was the way of life in the South, many people believed the Southern states to be sovereign over the Union. Furthermore, the South believed the Constitution to be a compact between states, and thus, they felt that if this compact was broken, the Southern states could secede legally and peacefully. Before succession, the South even attempted to exert their power as states within a union, and did so by the proof of President James Buchanan’s message to Congress. “...All for which the slave States have ever contended, is to be let alone and permitted to manage their domestic institutions in their own way†(Document G).
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