Question

Explain the Northern states' attitude toward slavery in 1862.

Answer 1

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Step-by-step explanation:

Here's the sample answer on Edge by the way, just in case you would like it. DON'T JUST COPY AND PASTE IT THOUGH! Read through before you copy and paste things lol

Student responses will vary. It is important that student answers distinguish between the North being against the spread of slavery and not against slavery at the time of the forming of the Confederacy. In general, at the time of the secession by the Confederate states, the Northern states were not against slavery, rather they did not want slavery to spread into any more states. The North felt that the new territories in the South that were gained by the United States after the War with Mexico would all become slave states, which would give the South more power than the North in Congress. The North did not rely on slavery for the success of its economy as much as the South, and the North knew that the South could become very powerful economically if slavery continued to grow across Southern states. Northern views on slavery were primarily driven by political and economic interests.

Answer 2

Answer: The Northern states held mixed views on slavery.

Explanation: The abolitionists opposed slavery and its expansion while some others only sought to limit slavery to the South. Some of the workers in the North who feared that freed slaves might move north to claim their jobs also supported the continuation of slavery. A lot of northern business owners also favored slavery because they profited from it.

However, even those who were not abolitionists opposed the Fugitive Slave Act (which required that all escaped slaves, upon capture, be returned to their masters and that officials and citizens of free states had to cooperate) because the law required them to support slavery. Many Northerners simply refused to comply with the law while others continued to help shelter and transport escaped slaves on the Underground Railroad.