American Civil War

Description

Describe one key event from the 1850s that escalated tensions between the North and the South and support why you believe this led to the regional hostility. Use examples from the text to support your response.

In responding to your classmates, pick two who identified a key event different from the one you chose and discuss how the events were related to each other.

Peer 1

One of the key events that escalated tensions between the North and the South was the Kansas-Nebraska Act. It caused a rift and caused a lot of anger for the Northerners because of the power the South was gaining with the undoing of the Missouri Compromise. According to our text the North lost badly in the congressional elections, making the priorities of slaveholder’s number one. This caused major conflict between the Northerners and Southerners, as well as problems with the Federal government. Have a good week.

PEER 2

After reading Chapter 12, I believe that the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 caused a large amount of tension in the North as well as the South. There was a surge in the abolitionist movement in the North and many Northerners did not think that the government should be forcing them to help capture runaway slaves. This was the biggest difference between the 1850 act and the ones before it. The average citizen was forced to assist government agents in recovering runaway slaves. On the other hand, Southerners were complaining that the Northerners were not following the previous Slave Acts with no repercussions, and they were likely not to start now. As the abolitionists’ movement continued to grow in the North, elections were starting to sway in favor of those that were against slavery and Southerners were growing more angry and fearful that they would lose their “property.” In the bigger picture, this was only one of many reasons for the South leaving the Union.