How did the Mexican-American War ignite a conflict over slavery between the North and the South?
http://www.understandingrace.org/history/gov/west_exp_post_mex.html
Thanks
one more question
How did textile factories improve the economy of South Carolina?
Textile factories need cotton. South Carolina grew a lot of cotton.
The Mexican-American War, which took place from 1846 to 1848, played a significant role in intensifying the conflict over slavery between the North and the South in the United States. To understand how this war ignited the conflict, let's break it down into a few key factors:
1. Acquisition of new territories: The war resulted in Mexico ceding vast territories to the United States, including California, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, and parts of Colorado and Wyoming. The question that arose was whether these new territories would allow or prohibit slavery.
2. Wilmot Proviso: In 1846, shortly after the start of the war, Congressman David Wilmot proposed an amendment to a military appropriations bill, known as the Wilmot Proviso. The proviso aimed to ban slavery in any territory acquired from Mexico. This stirred widespread debate and heightened tensions between the North, which generally opposed expanding slavery, and the South, which sought to protect and expand the institution.
3. Popular Sovereignty: Following the war, the concept of popular sovereignty was proposed as a way to address the issue of slavery in the newly acquired territories. Popular sovereignty meant that the residents of each territory could decide for themselves whether to allow or prohibit slavery. However, this led to fierce debates as to whether slaveholding states would have an advantage in influencing the decisions.
4. Political polarization: The Mexican-American War deepened the existing divide between the North and South on the issues of slavery and expansionism. The North viewed the war as an aggressive attempt by the South to extend slavery into new territories, while the South saw it as an opportunity to expand slaveholding states. This polarization further fueled tensions and set the stage for further conflicts.
5. Compromise of 1850: In an attempt to alleviate the growing crisis, the United States Congress passed a series of laws collectively known as the Compromise of 1850. This compromise attempted to maintain a balance between free and slave states, while also resolving some of the territorial disputes. However, it ultimately proved to be a temporary solution and did not resolve the underlying conflict over slavery.
Overall, the Mexican-American War served as a catalyst for sparking intense debates over the expansion of slavery into new territories, further straining the relationship between the North and the South. These debates, coupled with the acquisition of new territories, brought the issue of slavery to the forefront and ultimately contributed to the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861.