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The Issue Of The Civil War

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One exception to the rising trend in democracy was Rhode Island. Its policy was that voters had to own land worth at least $134 or rent for $7 per year. Due to a growing population of wage earners who did not own property, proponents of democracy organized a People’s Convention and drafted a new constitution. It gave all adult white men the right to vote. When reformers proceeded to ratify their new constitution and inaugurate Thomas Dorr, Rhode Island’s president, John Tyler, called on federal troops. The movement was unsuccessful and Thomas Dorr ended up spending nearly two years in prison for committing treason. The Dorr War made it clear how serious it was to exclude any group of white men from voting. This eventually led to the …show more content…

When banks began asking for payments from the people who had been loaned money, many “…farmers and business men who could not repay declared bankruptcy…” (Foner 366) “The depression lingered for two years. It was the first of several severe downturns that would tarnish America 's otherwise vigorous economy throughout the 19th century.” (Reynolds) Expansion of the West brought the question of whether or not slavery would be allowed. In 1819, Missouri, a region carved out of Louisiana Purchase, requested that it form its own constitution before its administration into the Union as a state. With regards to slavery, “James Tallmadge, a Republican congressman from New York, moved that the introduction of more slaves be prohibited and that children of those already in Missouri be freed at age twenty-five.” (Foner 368) This proposal ignited two years of controversy. In 1820, the senate stepped in and Jesse Thomas of Illinois proposed a three part compromise to Talmadge’s plan. First, Missouri would be allowed to draft its own Constitution. It would also “…be admitted to the union as a slave state, but would be balanced by the admission of Maine, a free state, that had long wanted to be separated from Massachusetts.” (ushistory.org) Lastly, slavery would be prohibited in the Louisiana Purchase’s remaining territory. Thomas’ plan was adopted by Congress as the Missouri

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