States' Rights
What Rights States Did Have
- State Constitution Each state could write its own constitution, but they cannot override the nation's - Bill of Rights Amendment ten really sparked conflict. It states that powers not given to Federal Government belong to the states. What Rights the Southern States Wanted - True Federalism They wanted shared power between the national government and the states' government. - Nullification Rights They wanted the ability to cancel federal laws in their states. - Popular Sovereignty (majority rules over minority) They wanted each state to have a say on Federal laws. - Secession Rights They wanted the choice to break away from the Union if they felt the need. |
Missouri Compromise - 1820
Missouri applied for statehood as a slave state. At this point, there were eleven northern states and eleven southern states. Both the north and south worried about losing power since Missouri would give one side more power and not the other. Henry Clay (also known as the Mouth from the South) wrote a compromise referred to as the Missouri Compromise. Missouri would become a slave state, but Maine would become a free state. He also "drew" the compromise line at 36 degrees 30 minutes. Any future state north of this line would become free. Any future state south of this line had the choice to become a slave state. Power Struggle The power struggle between the north and south only grew and grew. Southerners wanted more power, but also feared the north would get too much. They knew that if slavery was abolished, their economy would fail because they relied on slavery so heavily. |