Popular sovereignty is the political principle that the authority of a state and its government is created and upheld by the consent of its people, typically through their elected representatives or by direct vote. In the context of American history, particularly in the mid-19th century, popular sovereignty was used as a way to allow the residents of newly organized territories to decide for themselves whether to allow slavery or not.
The Missouri Compromise, enacted in 1820, was a legislative agreement aimed at balancing the interests of slave and free states. It allowed Missouri to enter the Union as a slave state while Maine entered as a free state, maintaining a balance in the Senate. Additionally, it prohibited slavery in the Louisiana Territory north of the 36°30′ parallel.
The concept of popular sovereignty undermined the Missouri Compromise in a few key ways:
-
Territorial Control: With the introduction of popular sovereignty through the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, territories could determine their own stance on slavery. This essentially negated the geographic limitations set by the Missouri Compromise, allowing slavery to potentially expand into areas where it had been previously banned.
-
Increased Tension: The principle of popular sovereignty led to violent conflicts in places like Kansas in the 1850s (often called "Bleeding Kansas") as pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions clashed over whether the territory would allow slavery. This violence and turmoil showcased the deep divisions within the country and highlighted how popular sovereignty was often seen as an inadequate solution to the slavery issue, further straining national unity.
-
Erosion of Compromise: The shift towards popular sovereignty marked a departure from the compromise-driven approaches that had characterized earlier legislative efforts like the Missouri Compromise. The reliance on local decision-making demonstrated increasing polarization and underscored the failure of legislative compromises to address the underlying disputes over slavery.
In summary, popular sovereignty undermined the Missouri Compromise by challenging the earlier agreements that sought to limit slavery's expansion and by intensifying conflicts between pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions, ultimately contributing to the sectional tensions that led to the Civil War.
1 answer