5. Compromises on Slavery

About this Lecture

Lecture

In this module, we examine the various compromises made over slavery in the period. We will explore the following areas as part of this: (i) the Constitution's compromises on slavery; (ii) the tensions that arose over the slavery question in the Early Republic; and (iii) the Missouri Compromise.

Course

In this course, Professor John Pinheiro (Aquinas College) explains how different regional interests affected debates about the role of the federal government in the Early Republic. In the first module, we take a look at the different sources of sectionalism within the Early Republic. After this, we explore the fundamental tension at the heart of sectionalism in the United States - the tension between agricultural interests and industrial interests. We then explore the Market Revolution - what this was and how it transformed political debate. From then, we take a look at Henry Clay's American System and how this played out in different parts of the country. In the penultimate module, we examine the various compromises made over slavery in the period. And finally, we examine the disputes over the role of the federal government in this period.

Lecturer

Professor John Pinheiro is Professor of History at Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He specialises in American views on liberty and order, the Mexican-American War, American constitutional history, and the development of American identity during the early republic. He has written a number of books within these topics, including Missionaries of Republicanism: A Religious History of the Mexican-American War (Oxford University Press, 2014).