Cobblestone articles from January 2002

Cobblestone archives from January 2002

Editor's note.(Editorial)
January 1, 2002... Imagine the contiguous United States divided roughly into three sections. Until the 1840s, the western third was not a part of the nation. But by the close of the decade, loosely organized territories were being slowly added to the United...

A balancing act: the Missouri Compromise.
January 1, 2002... To better understand the Compromise of 1850, it is helpful to go back thirty years prior to it and study another compromise. The Missouri Compromise of 1820 raised issues about the balance of power in Congress and the power of the federal...

A precarious balance.(Mexican War, 1845-8)(Wilmot Proviso)
January 1, 2002... Compromise means a mutual agreement that resolves conflict. So what, when, and where was the conflict that prompted the Compromise of 18507 One place to look for answers is Texas in 1836. In that year, Texas declared its independence from...

Crafting the compromise.(Missouri Compromise)
January 1, 2002... I hold in my hand a series of resolutions which I desire to submit to the consideration of this body," announced Senator Henry Clay of Kentucky on January 29, 1850. "Taken together, in combination, they propose an amicable arrangement of all...

Bleeding Kansas.(Kansas-Nebraska Act)
January 1, 2002... Slavery had been banned by the Missouri Compromise of 1820, but a new piece of legislation threatened that in May 1854. The Kansas-Nebraska Act created the new territories of Kansas and Nebraska out of some of the lands acquired under the...

A bird's-eye view of the compromise of 1850.
January 1, 2002... * California admitted as a free state * Slave trade prohibited in Washington, D.C. * New Mexico and Utah territories organized without mention of slavery * Stronger enforcement of provisions regarding fugitive slaves * Slave...

John C. Calhoun champion of states' rights.
January 1, 2002... The story of John C. Calhoun is that of a great statesman who lived during a time of tremendous changes in the United States. Calhoun's political life provides an interesting look at the gradual evolution of one man's outlook: from supporter...

The rise & fall of political parties.
January 1, 2002... Attempts to work out agreements and compromises in an increasingly divided nation dramatically affected the political landscape of the United States in the second quarter of the 1800s. In the years before and after the Compromise of 1850,...

An escaped slave is still a slave: the fugitive slave laws.
January 1, 2002... One important element of the Compromise of 1850 was the handling of fugitive slaves and how to enforce laws pertaining to them. In 1787, the newly formed United States composed its Constitution. In Article IV, Section 2 of the document,...

Did you know?(quotes)
January 1, 2002... Debates and discussions of the issues related to the Compromise of 1850 left to posterity a number of quotes by many famous American statesmen. Following is a sampling. Our Federal Union! It must be preserved! -- Andrew Jackson 1830...

Henry Clay & Daniel Webster: two pillars of the union.
January 1, 2002... The debate over the Compromise of 1850 capped the long careers of quite a few famous statesmen. Of these, two of the greatest were Henry Clay, the "Great Compromiser," and Daniel Webster, the "Defender of the Union," who spent most of their...

At what price?
January 1, 2002... The Congress of the mid-1800s was filled with some of the greatest political speakers ever to walk the halls of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Yet, even they could not avoid the collision course on which the nation was headed....

Books to read. (Digging Deeper).(Bibliography)
January 1, 2002... Daniel Webster: Defender of the Union by Robert Allen (Milford, Michigan: Mott Media, Inc., 1989), part of the Sowers series, follows the life of the man from boyhood to lawyer, congressman, senator, secretary of state, and supporter of the...

On the web. (Digging Deeper).
January 1, 2002... For on-line biographies of Daniel Webster and information on his life as a senator and secretary of state, go to either www.marshfield.net/History/ webster.htm or www.danorr.com/ webster/. The site www.dartmouth.edu/~dwebster/ brings you to the...

Places to visit. (Digging Deeper).(historic homes)
January 1, 2002... Ashland, The Henry Clay Estate, Lexington, Kentucky. Visit the early-1800s home of Henry Clay and you will see original Clay family furnishings and close to twenty acres of greenery. The Pierce Manse, Concord, New Hampshire. This is the...

From the archives.
January 1, 2002... COBBLESTONE has published several issues that delve into American society and some of the more famous personalities during the years prior to the Civil War. They are: The Antislavery Movement (ISBN 0382404459), Frederick Douglass: Fighter for...