Before the Civil War there were three arguments to frustrate the north and the south, Causing them to become enemies. There are the Three Fifths Compromise, the Missouri Compromise of 1820, And the Compromise of 1850. All three compromises were about the way slaves were used and if they would be set free or stay slaves. Some solutions to these compromises were to fight and some other ones are they would compromise until the north and the south felt happy about the decision. All these compromises led into the Civil War because all the time they would have a compromise, the compromise would get worse and worse, until the Civil War where the south and north couldn't take it anymore. This would make the time when the Civil War comes, surprising.

The Three Fifths Compromise

Many compromises were happening over the slaves and their freedom. This compromise was the first. While the U.S. Constitution was being written, the South decided not to sign it. The South wanted their slaves to be used for the purpose of the counting of taxes. The northerners did not want this to happen. If the South were to be allowed to do this, they would have more Representatives. This was a problem because the north thought it was unfair for the slave owner to vote and have the right to vote for all their slaves, too. For the south to have more Representatives would make the southerners have more of a say in all the decisions that were going on. they would only be Representatives for only another 2 years, until they would pick new representatives With making some changes, the U.S. Congress decided the slaves would be counted, when they decided representatives for both sides, as three fifths of a free white or black person. That's why the Three Fifths Compromise got it's name. In conclusion the slaves didn't vote, but were counted for three fifths of a free white or black person.

The Missouri Compromise of 1820

This compromise was another way the South and the North argued over slavery. The Compromise of 1820 required that all free states and slave states were to be equal. There was a balance of free and slave states, there were eleven each. The state of Missouri was a slave state and wanted to come to the North as a free state. This would make a big deal because this would make the balance uneven, and if this happened it would not be approved. That's not the last of hope for the South because the state of Maine also wanted to join the North and become a free state. The U. S. Congress decided to make Maine a free state because it didn't have any slaves in the state and Missouri did. They had about 10,000 slaves already in it, and the South didn't want to free all those slaves. Missouri then stayed a slave state.

The Compromise of 1850

Another 30 years past and the North and South made and even bigger compromise. This compromise was called the Compromise of 1850. This compromise would try to settle the slavery question once and for all by making the North and South happy. The compromise allowed the slaves to work for the South, but it did not allow the slave trade to continue in Washington D.C.                 

The state of California was made a free state by the U.S. Congress, but if the balance of free and slave states were to be broken it would not be allowed (like in the Missouri Compromise of 1820.) There just had to be another discussion about the state of Texas it wanted to own the territory of New Mexico. The compromise would give Texas an amount of ten million dollars to give up it's claims of New Mexico's territory. This would provide much of the needed money to pay for Texas's debts. After planning they decided to make the Texas boundary as it is to day.

The Compromise of 1850 made an even stricter law which was the Fugitive Slave Act, the North just had to stop this act too. The Fugitive Slave Act made the North return the slaves back to their rightful owners that had escaped from the Underground Railroad. This railroad was for slaves that escaped from their owners and who had gone to the free states of the north or parts of Canada. The South wanted to just take the slaves back, but they had to show evidence to the U.S. Congress to prove they were their rightful owners. If they had no evidence the slaves would be free and would not go back and work for the South on the plantations. The compromise was successful by keeping the nation united. This was only temporary until more further on when the South wanted to separate from the North.

Bibliography

Borrit, Gabor S. "Civil War." World Book Encyclopedia, 2001.

Dalzell, Robert F. " Compromise of 1850." World Book Encyclopedia, 2001.

Department of Humanities Computing. The Abolitionists. http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/H/1994/ch6_p4.html: Last Visited: December 10, 2001.

Infoplease. The Compromise of 1850. http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/history/A0813116.html: November 28, 2001.