1. Congressional Attempts to Limit the Slave Trade

2. One year before the Pilgrims landed at. Plymouth and wrote
One year before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth and wrote the Mayflower Compact, the first African slaves arrived in Virginia to work the tobacco plantations.

3. When the Constitution was written in 1787, Congress was granted authority to regulate the trade (Article I section 9) but not eliminate it before 1808.

4. When Constitutionally authorized to do so (at the urging of President Jefferson), Congress banned the importation of slaves into the United States (the international slave trade) in 1808!

5. As new states were added to the Union, the question of slavery came up time and again. When Missouri petitioned for statehood, James Tallmadge (The Tallmadge Amendment) insisted that Missouri could join the Union, but only as a free state.

6. The Missouri Compromise allowed Missouri into the Union as a slave state, but disallowed slavery north of Missouri’s southern border for any new state joining the Union (effecting the territory of the Louisiana Purchase).

7. Despite a “gag rule” imposed by Congress in 1836 that squelched further consideration of the slavery issue, John Quincy Adams proposed a Constitutional Amendment that no person could be born into slavery after Congress refused to consider the proposal.

8. In 1846, James K. Polk requested funds from Congress to prosecute the war against Mexico. David Wilmot of Pennsylvania added an amendment to the bill disallowing slavery in any territory taken from Mexico as a result of the war. The Wilmot Proviso passed the House, but not the Senate.

9. North South Political Social Economic
Strong Central Government; National government superior to state governments
Anti-slavery; strong work ethic; strong ethic of individualism; urban lifestyle
Manufacturing-based; strong infrastructure for transportation, communication, and trade
South
Strong State Governments; Central government subservient to state governments
Pro-slavery; relaxed casual lifestyle; tight-knit, small communities; rural lifestyle
Agricultural economy; weak infrastructure; poor communication and transportation