Reference no: EM133686859

Assignment:

Slavery:

After the revolution, several northern states, such as Vermont and Massachusetts, ended slavery immediately; others, including Pennsylvania and New York, adopted gradual emancipation. Southern legislatures, by contrast, became more determined to preserve slavery since 1793, when the invention of the cotton gin made cotton a viable crop. These contrasting developments contributed to political conflicts between North and South over time. Address the reasons for this conflict, including notions of unregulated economic prosperity (or pursuit of happiness) and the ideal of true representation in a republican form of government.

Southern political qualms focused on equal representation of economic interests and protection of property rights. Southerners feared that Congressional legislation would favor the concerns of northern over southern states and eventually lead to the end of slavery. As discussed in your text, Missouri has a special place in this widening rift between advocates for ending slavery and those opposing emancipation. The argument over Missouri's admission as a state included the debate over equal representation, protection of property, and the power relationship between states and national government. This was not a new argument; these issues during the Revolution and the Constitutional ratification debates and that they continue to ponder them in today's world.

How did slavery contradict the American Republican ideals?