Expansion of Slavery in the 1840s-1850s

Context

• Time Period: 1840s-1850s, during America's westward expansion.
• Key Issue: Whether slavery should expand into newly acquired western territories.

Positions on Slavery Expansion

Southern Perspective

• Desired the expansion of slavery alongside American expansion westward.

Government Role

• Questioned whether the government could prevent the expansion of slavery into new territories.
• A major source of division within the nation by the 1850s.

Democratic Party's Stance

• Popular Sovereignty: The idea that the people in the territories should decide on the issue of slavery themselves.
• Belief that the decision should be postponed until territories apply for statehood.

The Wilmot Proviso

• Proposed by: Representative David Wilmot, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, in 1846.
• Objective: To ban slavery in any new territory acquired from Mexico following the Mexican-American War.

Impact and Outcome

• The Wilmot Proviso triggered a significant split in the Democratic Party, which was mostly pro-slavery.
• Legislative Journey: Passed in the House of Representatives but failed in the Senate.

Consequences

• The failure of the Wilmot Proviso amplified the sectional conflict between North and South over the issue of slavery.
• Contributed to the growing tensions that eventually led towards civil war.