How did the entrance of California into the Union upset the balance of free vs slave states?
The entrance of California into the Union caused a disturbance of the balance of free vs slave states because a majority of the California’s leaders and people preferred a free state as opposed to the slave trade. Her entrance into the Union therefore tipped the scale towards “a free state” United States and thus upsetting the numerical balance existing between states that wanted to remain slave states and those that wanted to transition to free states.
What did subsequent Congresses and Presidents do attempt to stem the rising tensions?
In order to stem the rising tensions between the North and the South, the subsequent presidents and Congresses preferred diplomacy and the use of constitutional means such as the Enforcement acts. In turning to the diplomatic front, the presidents and subsequent Congresses hoped that such a move could appease both sides of the divide, that is the South and the North, those who wanted the abolishment of the slave trade as well as those who opposed it.
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How did the desire for the abolition of slavery become a goal of the Union in the Civil War?
The desire for the abolition of slavery became a goal of the Union in the Civil War following the death of soldiers running up to hundreds of thousands. The rapidly deteriorating social and economic also encouraged the need to abolish slavery and focus on reconciliation and nation building. More importantly, the events of Antietam marked the end game for slavery and emancipation of the slavery. The bloody nature of the Antietam war acted as a platform for President Lincoln the Emancipation Proclamation program that sought to abolish slavery.
What were the differences between Presidential and Congressional Reconstruction?
According to the class readings, presidential reconstruction and Congressional reconstruction exhibit differences in the dissimilar plans for the reintegration of the former Confederate states. The presidential constriction plan proposed by President Lincoln was a generous which was in line with the 10% rule. According to this plan, any Confederate state could be reintegrated back into the Union on the basis that 10% of the total number of its registered voters vow their allegiance to the constitution of the United States by taking an oath. On the other hand, the Congressional Reconstruction plan was rather a harsh and stringent one as it required at least 50% of the registered voters in a particular Confederate state to their oath of allegiance.
One of the benefits of the Presidential reconstruction plan is that it had the potential to accelerate the process of reconciliation as a majority of the rebels would surrender their arms. On the other hand, one major failure of this plan is that it could expose the United States to the threat of treason considering that a large number of the rebels opposed the government.
For the Congressional plan, one major benefit of this plan is that it proposed the abolishment of the slave trade forever. However, requiring at least 50% of the voters to pledge their allegiance could have made the process of reconciliation to be longer.
