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Early Government Decisions to Abolish Slavery  3/5 Compromise – an agreement in 1787 that said when counting population for representation in the House of Representatives, 5 slaves would count as 3 people, which allowed for equal voting in Congress between slave and free states.  The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 outlawed slavery north of the Ohio and east of the Mississippi, including the present states of Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, and part of Minnesota.  The End of Slave Trade - In 1808 Congress decided to outlaw importing slaves from Africa. Slaves could still be traded between people in the United States.

What were the government decisions that led to the secession of the South?

What does secession mean?  Formally withdraw or break away from the United States

Slave States Georgia South Carolina North Carolina Virginia Maryland Delaware Kentucky Tennessee Louisiana Mississippi Alabama Free States Pennsylvania New Jersey New York Connecticut Rhode Island Massachusetts New Hampshire Vermont Ohio Indiana Illinois  In 1819, the number of slave states and free states stood at 11 apiece. The balance of representation in Congress was balanced Problem:  This balance was threatened when Missouri applied for statehood as a slave state.  Missouri

Missouri Compromise (1820)  Missouri would enter the Union as a slave state  Maine would enter the Union as a free state  The rest of the Louisiana Territory would be divided by the Missouri Compromise Line  No slavery would be allowed in the states north of that line This compromise kept the balance between slave states and free states in Congress for the time being.....

Now the debate was....  There were 15 free states and 15 slave states represented in Congress.  California wanted to join the Union as a free state. Upsetting the balance again. 15 Slave StatesFree States 15  1 Slave States 15

So....  This gave the Northern Senators enough power to pass a law that would stop the sale of slaves in Washington, D.C.  Southern Senators didn’t like this. So they wanted a Fugitive Slave Law so all slaves that escaped to the North had to be returned to their owners in the South.

Compromise of 1850  California enters the Union as a free state.  In the remainder of the territory from Mexico, people would decide whether or not to allow slavery.  Congress would pass the Fugitive Slave Law.  No slave trade in Washington, D.C. (the nation’s capital)

More to Debate....  The government wanted to build a railroad through the Nebraska Territory to the Pacific.  The idea was to divide the Nebraska Territory into 2 territories – Kansas and Nebraska Territories Nebraska Territory

Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)  Popular sovereignty (voters would decide) would decide if slavery should be legal or not in the Kansas and Nebraska Territories.  The Missouri Compromise Line was unconstitutional

From Compromise to Conflict

Who was Dred Scott?  Dred Scott- a slave from Missouri (slave state) whose owner took him to live in the North (free state) and then moved back to Missouri (slave state) I am free because I was free for 4 years in a free state! I’m going to sue for my freedom!

The Dred Scott Decision  Scott could not bring his case to court because he, as an enslaved African, was not a U.S. citizen  The law considered slaves property. The owner could move anywhere and still own his property.  The Missouri Compromise was against the law. Congress did not have the power to decide where slavery could be allowed.

What did this mean....  All territories were now opened up to slavery. Northern law makers would not be able to keep slavery out of the territories.....

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