Slave power in the context of "John Gorham Palfrey"

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⭐ Core Definition: Slave power

The Slave Power, or Slavocracy, referred to the perceived political power held by American slaveholders in the federal government of the United States during the Antebellum period. Antislavery campaigners charged that this small group of wealthy slaveholders had seized political control of their states and were trying to take over the federal government illegitimately to expand and protect slavery. The claim was later used by the Republican Party that formed in 1854–55 to oppose the expansion of slavery.

The term was popularized by antislavery writers including Frederick Douglass, John Gorham Palfrey, Josiah Quincy III, Horace Bushnell, James Shepherd Pike, and Horace Greeley. Politicians who emphasized the theme included John Quincy Adams, Henry Wilson and William Pitt Fessenden.

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Slave power in the context of Fugitive Slave Act of 1850

The Fugitive Slave Act or Fugitive Slave Law was a statute passed by the 31st United States Congress on September 18, 1850, as part of the Compromise of 1850 between Southern interests in slavery and Northern Free-Soilers.

The Act was one of the most controversial elements of the 1850 compromise and heightened Northern fears of a slave power conspiracy. It required that all escaped slaves, upon capture, be returned to the slave-owner and that officials and citizens of free states had to cooperate. The Act contributed to the growing polarization of the country over the issue of slavery. It was one of the factors that led to the founding of the Republican Party and the start of the American Civil War.

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LINKED FROM (PARENTS)
← Fugitive Slave Act of 1850
LINKS TO (CHILDREN)
Slavocracy → Slavery in the United States → Federal government of the United States → Antebellum South → Republican Party (United States) → Frederick Douglass → John Gorham Palfrey → Josiah Quincy III → Horace Bushnell → James Shepherd Pike → Horace Greeley → John Quincy Adams → Henry Wilson → William Pitt Fessenden →