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Bailey Brammer
Mrs. Wooton
AP United States History
The Demise of the Compromise
Since the creation of the first two political parties, there has been conflict
in the United States government. When Jefferson and Hamilton first proposed
their individual ideas, they had no idea that their opposite stances on issues
would morph into two very separate groups of opinionated Americans. As tensions escalated, the Missouri Compromise was proposed in 1820, which served to
satisfy the two main political parties on the issue of slavery. However, nearly 30
years later, the Compromise of 1850 was adopted; instead of appeasing the political parties, the "compromise" divided them further. Compromises made after
1860 did the opposite of what they were intended to, and while the idea of a compromise seemed appealing to many Americans, they could not succeed because of
the nation's profound sectionalism, deep segregation of class systems, and disagreement on the topic of slavery.
To begin, compromises were unable succeed in America after 1860 because of the sectionalism present in both the North and the South. In a political
cartoon by J.L. Magee, (document E) the scene of Preston Brooks beating Charles
Sumner with a cane in senate is depicted. Magee's point of view behind the drawing, "Southern Chivalry- Argument versus Club's" is that Sumner was wrongly
beaten by a haughty Southerner. The cartoon represents the divide between the
North and the South through violence in a political environment.

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Additionally, the issue of secession was an idea that flowed from sectionalist notions. South Carolina, the first state to secede after Lincoln was elected, had
been contemplating secession for many years prior to the election of 1860. According to Henry Clay, (document A) secession from the Union was implausible
and unheard of. Clay's purpose was surely to convince the Senate of the South
Carolina's true intentions, but his facts are quite misaligned; South Carolina did
secede, as soon as it was announced that Lincoln won. While Clay's argument is
not necessarily factual, he does provide keen insight into the process of secession. Similarly, in Daniel Webster's senatorial address in 1850, (document D) the
impossibility of secession is brought to light. Webster's point of view on the issue
of secession is as a northerner, although he tries his best to remain unbiased. In
the speech, Webster examines how separation would not satisfy anyone, and does
a much better job of backing his argument than Clay does. However, there is a
touch of irony for any reader of either speech; secession of South Carolina was
the true start of the American Civil War. Another document that would be useful
when looking at secession would be the constitution of the Confederate States of
America, because it would shed understanding on such a misunderstood decision.
Furthermore, compromises were merely empty words after 1860 because
of rigid social structures in both the North and the South. In a quote from the
New York Tribune in 1856, (document F) the author agrees that the Union is full
of a variety of men, and agreement is difficult to come by. The historical context
of this is that the quote was written just before the election of 1856, where working Northerners were frightened into voting for James "Old Buck" Buchanan. Be-

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cause of the class systems implemented in society, decisions came from the
politicians, and had little to do with the people they represented; in this way,
compromise would not work because if the people did not support what was decided for them, they would take matters into their own hands, which was something the politicians dreaded.
Subsequently, the issue of slavery remains to be the real reason as to why
compromise failed after 1860. As stated previously, politicians controlled the
Union; according to Abraham Lincoln, (document G) the agitation Americans felt
toward slavery was due to the ambition of power-hungry politicians. Lincoln's
audience was the people of Illinois, because this speech was one of the seven of
the Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858. In these debates, Lincoln and Douglas battled through words about the various issues of the time period. Lincoln's ideas
stem from the belief that politicians pull the strings, and state that compromise
will fail because of the arrogance of opinionated government men.
In the same fashion, anti-slavery crusades began to grow more and more
popular due to the people's obsession with abolitionism. According to the "Declaration of National Anti-Slavery," (document C) slavery is against the Christian religion. The purpose of this document is to depict the true evils of slavery, however
not everyone in the Union felt the same way. For every point, there was a counterpoint, and for every argument there were a million reasons why such a stance
was incorrect. Because of the opinions of both sides, compromise was useless; the
Union was headed into battle.

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In conclusion, the attempt to compromise in America after 1860 was four
naught, due to the nation's irreversible sectionalism, heavy division between social classes and national direst on the topic of slavery. Although compromises
were not the best solution to the problems that arose in the Union, they were
much better than the alternative.