1. in a large and prosperous country there are very likely to arise antagonisms of interest and sentiment which will require the strong pressure of some common and more imperative interest to overawe and reconcile by a process of mutual concession, called compromise.
the states of the two sections—north and south—were unlike in several general respects; but it was in nothing so marked as in regard to slavery. this system was introduced in virginia in the same year that the plymouth colony was founded in massachusetts, and spread to all the colonies, in time; but never was much practiced north of maryland. in all the southern colonies it took deep root from the first. it formed the subject of the most difficult
compromise of the constitution.
2. this compromise consisted of concessions made by each section. the north conceded the return of fugitives from their southern masters, when escaped to the north, and an enumeration of three-fifths of the slave population in computing the representation in congress. this was a great sacrifice for that section to make, for its people were, at heart, deeply hostile to slavery. both their interests and sentiments made it important to exclude it from the new states where they were likely to settle in considerable numbers. but a close and strong union of the states was a vital point with them. commerce,[599] trade, and manufactures, to which they were largely given, required resources and vigor in the central government, to maintain the public credit at home, and secure respect and safety abroad. the south conceded the final close of the slave trade at a given time (1808). outside of the constitution it, at the same time, conceded the “ordinance of 1787,” by which slavery was excluded from the territory north of the ohio river. thus the north and south divided the country between them.
3. this was, however, a very troublesome subject, and affected so many legislative questions as to be constantly coming up for debate. the sentiments of the northern people grew more hostile to the institution, and the south stood on guard with growing apprehension and anger, as this state of feeling developed in the north; and, at the same time, it became evident that the more rapid growth of the northern population gave them an increasing preponderance in congressional representation. they jealously watched over the rights of the state governments from their fear of congressional or executive interference, and industriously sought means to extend their area and increase the number of slave states. they were always much assisted by a large party in the north of those who cherished the union and were fearful of its dissolution. they were ever pouring oil on the troubled waters, and mediating between the two extremes.
the missouri compromise.
4. the arrangement of the slavery question so termed was made in 1820, and took effect as to the state of missouri in 1821. in the five years that followed the close of the last war with england there was great activity in settlement of the unoccupied territory, and the country gave indications of the power of rapid development that has so strongly characterized it since. the south foresaw the loss of its balance of power if too many of the new states were organized as free. missouri had included a clause in her constitution, presented for the approval of congress, prohibiting slavery. this clause the south demanded should be stricken out. it produced great[600] excitement and hot discussion throughout the country, and seemed to threaten the stability of the union. both sections were resolute in maintaining their principle, but both appreciated the necessity of strength in the government and harmony between the sections, and each made a sacrifice for the sake of these. missouri was required to admit slavery, and the condition was annexed that no more slave states should be formed north of its southern line. this was a concession trying to both sides. the north became a party to the extension of slavery, and the south gave definite limits to her power of expansion. each, however, gained something: the south a state above the limits before virtually fixed, and the north a definite and final limit to the extension of a hated institution. this was quite generally satisfactory, and for many years set that question at rest.
5. “mason and dixon’s line” was the term applied to the boundary between the free and slave states. this name originated in colonial times. the royal grants to colonial proprietors or companies were often very carelessly made, and those to lord baltimore, the founder of maryland, and william penn, the proprietor of pennsylvania, were specially indefinite, giving rise to adverse claims that nearly produced war along the border. commissioners were at length appointed, who employed mason and dixon, eminent english astronomers and surveyors, to establish the boundary, which they did satisfactorily. the importance of the question settled, and the reputation of the surveyors for scientific accuracy, attached their name to the boundary permanently. it acquired political significance afterwards, as the boundary between maryland, the most northern of the slave states, and pennsylvania, the most southern of the original free states. when new states were formed, with the ohio river as a boundary from its point of departure out of pennsylvania, that name was extended in its application to the whole dividing line between the free and slave states—south or north of mason and dixon’s line meaning, in slave or free territory.
[601]
6. after some years the southern statesmen began again to feel apprehensive of a loss of their equality of power in the general government, so rapidly did the northern territories fill up. they began to look for more territory, and favored the settlement, independence, and annexation of texas. though long resisted, they succeeded in the election of 1844, with this annexation and a probable war with mexico as test questions, and added not only texas but new mexico and california to the territory wherein slavery, by the missouri compromise, would be admissible.
7. their satisfaction was not very durable. the discovery of gold in california filled it with inhabitants so soon, and these so largely from the free states, that in two years from its definite acquisition it petitioned for admission into the union with a clause in its constitution prohibiting slavery. this was very exasperating to the south, and after a long and violent contest could be carried by the north only by the passage of the fugitive slave law—a re-enactment of a part of the compromise of the constitution with provisions so vigorous and effective, could they have been enforced, as to be, in the highest degree, offensive to a considerable part of the northern people. utah was given a territorial government as a concession to the south, and the slave trade was abolished in the district of columbia as her corresponding concession to the north. these were the four compromise measures of 1850, the result of a discussion lasting nearly a year, engendering great bitterness on both sides, and failing to satisfy either.
8. the attempt to enforce the fugitive slave law proved ineffectual, in the end; the rooted aversion of the northern people to slavery, kept in abeyance before by less offensive compromises, being fully aroused. this produced in the southern people a bitter indignation as showing a disposition to rebel against a constitutional provision in their favor. they procured, in 1854, the repeal of the missouri compromise in the famous “kansas and nebraska bill,” and sought to introduce slavery into kansas. a civil war in that territory followed,[602] which resulted in the triumph of the northern party. the extinction of slavery was now apparently but a question of time, the hostility to it in the north becoming so out-spoken and averse to compromises acceptable to the south, that they began to look forward to separation, which they endeavored to accomplish from 1860-5. a civil war, such as only americans could wage, was carried on during these years. the resolution, bravery, and military talents of either side were never excelled; but the resources of the north seemed inexhaustible. her numbers, activity, and the inventive genius of her skilled artisans gave her an immense superiority. this war is a cause at once of pride and grief to every true american. in the contest slavery, the cause of it, disappeared, the constitution was amended, and the necessity of compromises on this question forever ceased.
