Fugitive Slave Act of 1850

     The roots of the Fugitive Slave Act included in the Compromise of 1850 can be found in 1793 when Congress first passed the Fugitive Slave Act. In the original law, it was stated that local governments could seize and return any and all escaped slaves, and that those who were found guilty of aiding escaped slaves could be punished accordingly. This law was met with fierce resistance by the people of mostly northern states and because of this it was loosely enforced until the new act was passed. In the mid-1800's, southern politicians started pushing for stricter fugitive laws, and which ultimately led to the inclusion of the Fugitive Slave Act to be included into the Compromise of 1850. The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 had a profound effect on sectionalism becasue the poeple in hte northern states viewed it as a horrible and attrocious act while the people of the south embraced it.
      This new act was much the same as the original except for slight variations. Along with harsher punishments for those who aided slaves and the lack of due process awarded to slaves, the Act also stated that every citizen was required by law to turn in any black man or women suspected of being a runaway. This newest version of an already hated law was met with with even more resistance than the last. Northern free states started passing laws to circumnavigate and even nullify the act. The number of runaways reached an all time high in the mid-1850's as abolitionists doubled their efforts to free the runaways. Violence also broke out in many areas as a result. In one instance in Boston, the people stormed the court house and set free a wrongly convicted black man named Shadrach Minkins. You can read more about this here. And there are countless more stories of abolitionist completely disregarding the law and turning their anger into violence for the sake of their beliefs.
     This one most likely the biggest reason why the Fugitive Slave Act was so hated. It forced northerners to make an extremely hard moral decision: Follow the law or follow what they know to be right. The abolitionist resented the law and those who passed it because it forced them into being slave-catchers. For many of them, black men and women had become another part of society. They could read and write and held jobs. For many northerners who weren't particularly passionate about the cause suddenly found this seemingly distant and irrelevant topic in their towns and neighborhoods. They saw the horrors of slavery first hand and the this led many to reproach their stance. The fact that many and most states passed some sort of preventative law to get around the Fugitive Slave Act not only shows the deep resentment for it at all levels, but it also showed that the State had the power to nullify Federal laws; that the individual state held more power. This dramatically increased the sectionalism among U.S. citizens as now huge numbers of people were now blatantly disobeying laws because they felt that they were unjust and this wasn't just a northern state thing. Only a few years after this, South Carolina will demonstrate that the state is more important than the central power when they secede from the Union after they feel misrepresented. In regards to the Fugitive Slave Act, most if not all Southerners were greatly in favor. In its passing, all runaway slaves were required by law to be returned. SLaves were for many people, their entire economic livlely hood so if one slave ran way, the effect was felt. This Act also provided a unique opportunity for southern slave owners that they had not been presented with before. Often times, free black men anad women were accused of being runaways and taken into enslavement, increasing the evergrowing slave market. The fact that states that often times share a boarder could hold such enormously different views on the Fugitive Slave Act goes to show how deeply rooted into each region slavery was.

Transcendental Poetry

   At one point or another, we have all heard a line or stanza written by one of the great writers of the Antebellum period such as Whitman, Emerson or Thorough. Their work was ground breaking in the relatively new nation of America. Their work helped set the foundation for future thinkers. The poetry they wrote and ideas they shared were that of personal freedom and individual expression.     Transcendental poetry was an embodiment of American culture leaving the rigid ideas of the European Enlightenment and the free individualistic expression of the American Renaissance.
    America was quickly entering a time that would be marked with unheard of reforms, experimental theories, huge changes in general consensus and  a general feeling that everything was getting better. No longer were great works of literature confined to legal documents and heated sermons. Sonnets of praising nature and free will became the new gospels. The art form itself allowed for the truest from of expression that had been seen in that area of the world. Works such as Self-Reliance and Friendship encouraged its readers to transcend organized religion and to look to themselves to find a relationship with God. Tales exclaiming the great deeds done by great people became common place when before, if God or the law were not the topic, it was not written. The fundamental goal of these poets was to encourage people to search within themselves and see that they are important and can accomplish great deeds and think for themselves, some of which are ideas that this nation prides itself on. The people of this nation learned of the positive side of self-pride but also the gratitude for a neighbor and that is what should be taken away when one thinks of Transcendental poetry.

To us americans, the War of 1812 was like a second revolution. It is obvious that we won, or at least tied, because we're still here and not being ruled by the british. To the english however, the war was something very different. It was a mere after thought. it meant nothing to the proud british who were in the middle of the fighting the most powerful army in history. Napolean was in the middle of conquering all of Europe at the time so anything that was going on on our continent was a sideshow. When british sailors started defecting to US ships they naturally tried to get them back. Around 50 percent of all merchant ship sailors were british defects so it only seemed natural for Britiain to react the way they did. The British had to use the majority of their resources and manpower to defeat the French. The only standing army that they had in America was in Canada. The Americans unsuccesfuly invaded Canada and by the time the invasion plan was finished, the British had ended the war with Napoleon. This allowed the British to move thousands of battle tested soldiers to America and deal with us once and for all.
Most of the British people looked at this war and saw a betrayal by the American people and became outright enraged. They had been our mother country for hundreds of years and were a chief trade partner. The fact that Americans were boycotting the impressment of sailors was looked at with scorn.