Relevance | thewilmotproviso

Relationship With Other Movements:

The Missouri Compromise of 1850 was basically a substitute to the Wilmot Proviso. The document also officially allowed Missouri to be a slave state and Maine to become a free state. Moreover, the proposals of the compromise incorporated the Wilmot Proviso. For example the Wilmot Proviso was planned to be reinstated in a specific area. Polk recommended extending the line of the Missouri Compromise west to the Pacific Ocean. Thus slavery would be permitted below the 36' 30' latitude line.

There are many events that lead to the growing tensions between the Northerns and the Southerns that led to the Civil War. First of all, the Great Triumvirate was one of these type of events. The Great Triumvirate are 3 statesmen that dominated the Senate and represented three opposing viewpoints of American people. On the issue of slavery, the perspectives were of the Western settlers, the Northern businessmen, and the Southern slaveholders. Their debates lead to the Compromise of the 1850 and the emergence of the political leaders such as Jefferson Davis (pro-slavery), William H. Seward (anti-slavery), and Stephen A. Douglas (combination of both). All 3 of the men died in the third year of the passage of the Compromise of 1850. This trio helped Americans understand one another and diffused some of the increasing tensions. They single-handedly united our country against national problems. But their unfortunate deaths left America to cope with the slavery issue alone. The passing of these great men symbolized the inception of our doom, and the first tragedy among many others to arrive.

The Kansas - Nebraska Act was initially meant to establish new territories, farmlands, and railroads. However this act developed into a controversy when the policy of “popular sovereignty” was included. This idea was considered as a middle ground between abolishing and legalizing slavery and allowed residents to decide the issue of slavery themselves. There was a mass migration into Kansas to voice their opinions, but the last straw broke when the voting results were publicised - Kansas was open to slavery! All in all, the Kansas - Nebraska Act’s existence was dependant on the proviso - if the Wilmot Proviso passed, the act may not have existed.

The Ostend Manifesto was an 1854 document which threatened war on Spain if U.S. wasn't permitted to purchase Cuba from Spain. However this document resulted in debates over slavery in the United States as slave owners vied for new territory. Authority figures were unsure how to deal with this issue and met to discuss the strategy at Ostend, Belgium. The authority figures created a document to persuade the US to buy Cuba but due to unfortunate circumstances, they were forced to publish the contents. The publishing of the dispatch triggered the rallying of the Northerners and developed into the conflict known as the Bleeding Kansas. Overall, the Ostend Manifesto functioned as a rallying cry for the abolitionists - the same purpose Wilmot Proviso served.

The birth of the Republican Party on June 6, 1854 shared a direct relationship with the Wilmot Proviso. The Wilmot Proviso’s primary obligation was the banishment of slavery in territories. This underlying principle was adopted by the Republican Party in the 1850’s and also later President Lincoln. Overall the modern Republican Party was founded on the principle of halting slavery's expansion, and Abraham Lincoln would be elected to the presidency on a platform that promised to carry out the principles of the Wilmot Proviso.

Bleeding Kansas was a series of violent occurrences in the Kansas Territory which involved pro and anti-slavery elements. The paramount conflict was Kansas' stance on slavery - to either ban it or accept it. This conflict tainted the relationship between the North and South; an impact which the proviso also caused. In general the Bleeding Kansas was akin to Wilmot Proviso in regard to fact that they both dealt with the slavery issue and incited a battle; one political and one physical.

In 1856, Southern Congressman Preston Brooks viciously attacked Northern Senator Charles Sumner in the halls of Congress. Sumner had just delivered an anti-slavery speech named "The Crime against Kansas." Infuriated, Brooks decided that Sumner wasn't worth a duel so Brooks chose to beat Sumner with his cane. The Northern Senators were enraged and the House voted to expel Brooks but failed to gain enough votes. Both Brooks and Sumner left the Senate for a couple of years. Sumner rejoined later while Brooks was reelected in South Carolina. In summation, this attack is similar to the Wilmot Proviso due to the fact that they both increased the tensions between the north and south and caused another controversy.

The Dred Scott v. Sanford was an important case which the Supreme Court declared that African Americans weren't American citizens and thus could not sue. It also stated that the U.S. government couldn't control slavery in places outside of the original United States. Dred Scott was a slave that attempted to sue his owners for freedom. By a 7-2 vote, the court denied Scott's request. This decision stirred up anti-slavery groups (mostly Republicans) to voice their opinions. The Dred Scott decision was interpreted as an attempt to expand slavery and the Kansas-Nebraska Act only helped pro-slavery elements prosper. This court decision and the Wilmot Proviso shared similarities in their impacts - both strengthened Northern slavery opposition, division of some political parties while strengthening of others, and encouragement to support slavery in the South. Both events were alike insofar that they were crucial abolitionistic benchmarks that developed Civil War climate.

The Lecompton Constitution of 1857 was created in Kansas by Southern pro-slavery advocates. This document's main purpose was for Kansas' statehood but it also contained clauses regarding slaveholding and a bill of rights excluding free blacks. The Constitution escalated tensions and it faced quite a political struggle. Eventually the document was defeated when Kansas voters rejected it by 10,226-13. However, Kansas was still admitted as a free state in 1861. Even though the Lecompton Constitution and the Wilmot Proviso faced the same fate of "death," they still had profound impacts such as Northerners advocating against slavery, the public voicing their opinions, and the rise of tensions and violence and aggression.

The Freeport Doctrine was spoken by Stephen A. Douglas at a debate against Lincoln in the year 1858. Douglas supported popular sovereignty in his speech and stated that slavery could be banned in territories if the necessary regulations were absent. Douglas also claimed that the Supreme Court ruling was more important than the public's decision. Overall his speech stated that territories should decide the existence of slavery without regards to the Supreme Court. The Wilmot Proviso is comparable to the Freeport Doctrine because they had different stances on slavery in territories. While the Wilmot Proviso was strictly against slavery, the Freeport Doctrine was neither for nor against slavery. Moreover the proviso dictated that there was no slavery in all Mexican territories while the doctrine stated that each and every US territory was free to make its own choice.

John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry was Brown's attempt to lead an armed slave revolt by seizing weapons at the Ferry. His raid was defeated by the US Marines, just as Frederick Douglass predicted. Being an active abolitionist, the Northerners treated him as a martyr but to the South he was just a low-life murderer. This failed raid resembles the Wilmot Proviso. Despite the failure of both, both of them were a springboard for North-South hostility. They both increased tensions causing yet another disagreement between the North and South. Furthermore, they both advocated an anti-slavery, abolitionist theme that they weren't afraid to display.

Jefferson Davis's Resolutions was mainly about the protection of slavery in territories and citizens should form a constitution to decide the issue of slavery by themselves. Davis was considered a pro-slavery activist and a slave owner himself. Moreover, the Wilmot Proviso had contributed to rising tensions among the South but Davis' proclamation helped diffuse the tension it caused. Both documents strengthened the split between the North and the South, just helped different parts. In the end, both documents aided the in development of the Civil War era and helped America seek the solution of the slavery question.

On November 6th, 1860 Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated as our 16th President. Lincoln was a major advocator against slavery. His election symbolized the formation of the Confederacy. He successfully abolished slavery during his presidency with the Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th Amendment. Despite receiving outstanding Nothern support, he was despised by the south. The Northerns loved his stance which the Wilmot Proviso shared - an abolitionistic view. Both Lincoln and the proviso were against slavery but differed in efficiency and their scope. The proviso was obviously ineffective and only targeted Mexican territories but Lincoln successfully eradicated slavery in the country. In the end, both occurrences supported the abolishing of slavery and Lincoln gained some of his ideas from the Proviso itself.

South Carolina was the first to secede from the Union and aided in the establishment of the pro-slave Confederacy. The Senators resigned and South Carolina elected Jefferson Davis as President. This action marked the point of no return and the dispute between the North and South was now finalized. No longer were there petty brawls or small skirmishes over the slavery controversy. Now there was an irreparable estrangement which the Proviso and other benchmarks had caused. The proviso had merely caused rallies and disputes between these two groups but the succession was the final straw in the relationship between the North and South.