Above the Line

Okay, this is my latest in a long line of attempts a timeline. I have just finished my essays for uni (one of which was connected to this subject vaguely), so I might have some time to actually do proper research and stuff like that.

The PoD of this timeline is that the Missouri Compromise does not limit slavery to below the 36th parallel. Over time this creates a situation where sectional tensions between the north and south over slavery boil over much earlier and with a rather different outcome to OTL.

Criticism and help with spelling/grammar (I'm a poor proof reader to say the least) are very welcome.

Above the Line: The Missouri Compromise Does Not Limit Slavery to below the 36th parallel

[FONT=&quot]Encyclopaedia Britannica (1997 edition)[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]-The Missouri Compromise-[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The Missouri Compromise was a political agreement in the United States of America which was passed into law in 1820. The Compromise was aimed at resolving the question of the extension of slavery in the United States. The first version of the compromise called for Maine and Missouri to be admitted as states (with Maine being a free state and Missouri being a slave state) and limit slavery below the 36th parallel (except where it existed already). This version of the draft was struck down in the Senate. When the compromise was finally passed by the Senate, it only stipulated that both Missouri and Maine should admitted to the one at the same time.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Although the Compromise did maintain the national balance of power, it failed to resolve the question of slavery’s expansion into the western territories. This failure would lead to American politics developing an increasingly sectional slant in the years following 1820. This division of the United States along sectional lines is considered by historians to be one of the key causes of the outbreak of the Northern Wars of Independence in the late 1840s.[/FONT]

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[FONT=&quot]Taken from the New York Tribune, 1844[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]“We are not one people. We are two peoples. We are a people for Freedom and a people for slavery. Between the two, conflict is inevitable.”[/FONT]

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[FONT=&quot]Taken from The Myth of a United America by Harold Turner. Cambridge, 1980.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The outcome of the Missouri Compromise seemed to be a success for all involved as well as the unity of the American nation. In reality, the situation was more complex. Although open conflict had been avoided and the balance between free and slave states maintained, it had come at a considerable cost. Many in the north and in particular many Federalists were frustrated by the outcome of the Compromise at it did not explicitly contain slavery below the 36th parallel. In the immediate aftermath of the Compromise, this led to the growth of fears of a “slave power” conspiracy in the northern states. It was believed by advocates of this conspiracy, that the southern states were engaged in a conspiracy to both dominate the Union and to extend slavery in the vast open spaces of the Great Plains.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Although there was very little actual basis in fact for such theories, this was not how it appeared to many northerners in the 1820s and 30s. Of the five men who had been presidents of the United States at the time, four had come from Virginia. The US constitution also granted that each slave owned by a plantation owner gave him three-fifths of a vote. Since the slaves would always ‘vote’ the way of their masters, this gave the southern plantation owners a huge advantage in the southern states of the Union. Since the southern states also had 103 electoral votes, this meant that the southern plantation owners had a huge influence on national politics. To those in the north who were willing to convince themselves that there was a slave power conspiracy, there seemed to be plenty of evidence to support their fears.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]The result of the Missouri Compromise was therefore to increase sectional tensions in American politics and began the process of dismantling the national parties which had been built up in the years since 1796. Although this trend was relatively unpronounced in the 1820s and for most of the 1830s, it began to gather evermore vengeful momentum as America entered the 1840s.[/FONT]

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[FONT=&quot]It had been expected that James Monroe would be unanimously elected president but the controversy over the admission of Maine and Missouri led to the Federalists nominating Rufus King and Richard Stockton for the presidency and vice-presidency respectively. King attempted to capitalize on growing northern distrust of the southern states however this strategy was largely a failure. In spite of the controversy of the Missouri Compromise, there was still a feeling that Monroe had been largely successful as a president which transcended sectional lines. On the other hand, the victory of the Federalists in New England and New York indicated that American politics were a sign of things to come…[/FONT]

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[FONT=&quot]The United State Election of 1820[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]States carried by Monroe (239 electoral votes)[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Pennslyvania[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]New Jersey[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Delaware[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Maryland[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Virginia[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Kentucky[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Ohio[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Illinois[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Indiana[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Missouri[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]North Carolina[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]South Carolina[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Georgia[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Alabama[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Mississippi[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Tennessee[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Louisiana[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]States won by Rufus King (81 electoral votes)[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]New York[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Connecticut [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Maine[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]New Hampshire[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Massachusetts[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Vermont[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Rhode Island[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]States won by John Quincy Adams (1 electoral vote)[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]New Hampshire (1 elector)[/FONT]
 
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