Addressing the Elephant in the Room

The debate over slavery was clearly the “elephant in the room” for American politics in the early 19th century.  It was such a big issue because it was so volatile and controversial, and because of the controversy regarding it, the government wanted to avoid it and stay out of it as much as it possibly could.  The government’s lack of a want to tackle the slavery debate is very apparent in the Dred Scott Case in March of 1857.  In this case, an enslaved black man living in Missouri filed a suit against the state, saying that he and his wife should be free because they had once lived in states and territories where slavery was illegal.  The Supreme Court ruled against Scott 7 to 2 because they were slaves and therefore did not have a right to sue in court.  Antislavery supporters were disgusted with the decision, but President Buchanan supported the court's ruling.  President Buchanan's actions in supporting the court's ruling in an effort to try and avoid governmental involvement with the slavery issue shows just how much people wanted to tip toe around the issue, for fear of people becoming explosive over the topic.  Slavery was clearly a huge part of American society and culture at the time, but people didn't want to address its existence.  

Even the most civilized of people had extreme emotions attached to their positions on slavery; the ignoring of slavery in politics led to a lot of the extreme reactions regarding it, because constantly trying to put it off and ignore it made emotions build even higher.  This idea is evident in D.C.'s reaction to the separation of parts of Kansas into proslavery, antislavery, and free-soiler, and all the violence that occurred as a result, known as "Bleeding Kansas." In response to the events of Bleeding Kansas, Republican senator from Massachusetts, Charles Sumner, gave a fiery speech titled "The Crime Against Kansas", in which he claimed that southerners were trying to force slavery on the western territories.  South Carolina senator Preston Brooks took great offense to the speech, and in an effort to defend southern honor, went to Sumner's senate desk and beat him with his cane.

When people actually did address the issue of slavery and debate it, most did what was more popular with the people, and did not challenge the people or the system of slavery at all.  Ignoring the issues behind slavery only continued the system and made it stronger.  This is apparent in the Lincoln-Douglas Debates of 1858, a series of 7 debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas over slavery during their run for the a spot in the senate of Illinois.  Douglas supported popular sovereignty, believing that the majority of people in a state should vote over the legality of slavery.  However, Lincoln believed that the majority did not have the right to take away people's rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  The problem with this is that Lincoln did not agree with slavery, but even he did not want to address the issue, saying, ""I am not nor have ever been in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and blacks."  

Finally, the ignoring of the issue of slavery not only made emotions hit their boiling point, but in some cases, that emotion led to extreme actions and violence.  John Brown's Raid on October 16, 1859 at Harper's Ferry, Virginia was one of those extreme situations.  Brown, along with 21 other men, raided the federal arsenal in an attempt to arm the slaves and assist them in starting an uprising.  But, Colonel Robert E. Lee was there with his troops surrounding the arsenal, and killed almost half of Brown's men before the rest of them surrendered.  John Brown was then hanged on account of treason, but was seen as a martyr by northerners, and was revered by them as a leader and a hero.

Slavery not only was avoided by the government and American society as a whole, but also led to intense violence and extreme measures being taken by people because there was no way for them to talk their issues and opinions on the matter through successfully.