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As
the nation expanded during the 1840s, the issue of slavery fueled
a national debate over its extension into the western territories. The question of slavery burst into the public spotlight one summer evening in 1846. Congressman David Wilmot, a Pennsylvania Democrat, introduced an amendment, known as the Wilmot Proviso, to a war appropriations bill. The proviso forbade slavery in any territory acquired from Mexico. Throughout the North, thousands of working men, mechanics, and farmers feared that free workers would be unable to successfully compete against slave labor. "If slavery is not excluded by law," said one Northern congressman, "the presence of the slave will exclude the laboring white man." |
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Map
of the United States, 1848
Click image to enlarge. Copyright 2002 The Chicago Historical Society |
Image 19
of 24  |
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