antebellum congress topic guide

Antebellum Congress 1

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LETTER FROM THE DAIS

Dear Delegates,

Hello everyone! My name is Wendy and I, along with Emily, am your senior staffer YMUN 39’s Commission on the Status of Women. Currently, I’m a sophomore at Yale, majoring in Psychology with a Neuroscience track with plans to go to graduate school.

Outside of the classroom and YMUN, I am also part of Yale’s Mock Trial team, a mentor in WYSE (Women and Youth Supporting Each Other), a mentoring group for local middle school girls, and I am running a non-profit, Codi’s Hats.

With the ever-evolving policies on reproductive health rights and women’s rights, I’m ex-cited to see the different stances and cultural clashes that the topics may bring out. I look forward to seeing how you all respond in the committee. See you soon!

- Wendy Cai, Yale ‘15

Hi guys! I’m Emily, and I will also be working as one of the directors for CSW. A North-ern California native, I’m currently a sophomore at Yale in Branford College, majoring in Economics with a possible double major in East Asian Studies. After graduation, I hope to live and work in China for several years before pursuing a graduate degree, possibly in business or law.

When not going to classes or preparing for YMUN, I also serve as a mentor in ReadySet-Launch, an organization providing college counseling services to low-income students, participate in Danceworks, a dance group at Yale, and I serve on the alumni fundraising board for my high school. I also enjoy cooking, baking, and playing softball.

I can’t wait to hear your thoughts on the topics we have prepared for committee this year. Women’s rights remain a hotly debated topic globally, and I know you all are going to come up with informed, innovative solutions to these pressing problems. Please don’t hes-itate to email either Wendy or me with any questions or concerns.

- Emily Harris, Yale ‘15

All the best, Wendy Cai ([email protected]) Emily Harris ([email protected])

Dear Delegates,

Our names are Sam Lowenkamp and Lizzie Hylton. We’re both juniors in Yale College. I (Sam) am

studying Computer Science and I (Lizzie) am double majoring in Global Affairs and Mechanical Engineering

[lolwut?]. We’ve been friends since Lizzie attended the Jefferson Scholars Weekend at UVA and met Sam’s 2

year-and-running suitemate, Paul (he doesn’t matter for YMUN). Point is, we’ve been friends since we were

freshman and we’re really excited to be directing this committee together.

In case you need proof that we are qualified to run a committee together, you should know that we

ran one of the highest rated committees at SCSY (Yale’s college MUN conference) together in fall 2012 – a

joint crisis committee based in the Star Wars universe. Lizzie is also from Virginia, so that gives her a sizeable

amount of knowledge about the Civil War. But more on that later.

Sam hails from Cleveland, Ohio. He has a sizeable family – he’s the oldest of four and his family

owns two bulldogs. Needless to say, his house is always busy and he’s used to a significant level of chaos in his

life. At the same time, he will probably cast all of you as stand-in younger siblings in his life for the time you’re

at this conference. Unless, of course, his younger brother actually attends the conference, in which case Aaron

will be his real life younger sibling. Not to worry, though, Aaron will not be permitted to participate in the

Antebellum Congress Committee, so you don’t need to worry about favoritism.

As mentioned above, Lizzie is from Virginia – Charlottesville, to be specific. She likes to keep it real

by participating on MUNTY, Yale’s competitive Model United Nations team. Just to be clear, by participating,

we here mean “was Head Delegate last year.” Outside of MUNTY, Lizzie is known for frequenting our local

Popeye’s and acting as a Master’s Aide in Saybrook College. She also has spent the last semester living in

Prague so may come back with a fake accent, but that’s still too be determined.

If we haven’t been clear enough to begin with, we’re tremendously excited to work with you in the

Antebellum Congress as part of YMUN XL. You’re going to have an amazing conference experience which, of

course, means that we will, too.

Welcome

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Lizzie and Sam

[email protected]

[email protected]

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TABLE OF CONTENTS History of Congress 5 Creating a System for Accepting New States to the Union

Topic History 6 Current Situation 7 Questions to Consider 13 Bloc Positions 14

Role of the Committee 15 Structure of the Committee 16 Suggestions for Further Research 17 "##$%#$&'! ! ! ! ! ! ()!


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The United States Congress can,

arguably, trace its roots back to the First

Continental Congress, which first convened in

the 1770s. This Congress was a convention of

delegates from the various colonies that

eventually became the United States of America.

On July 4th

, 1776, the Second Continental

Congress passed the Declaration of

Independence, declaring the United States of

America a separate entity from Great Britain. In

1789, the United States Congress as we know it

became active. This Congress was, and is to this

day, a bicameral legislature consisting of both a

House of Representatives, directly elected by the

members of the populace and consisting of a

representative number of representatives from

each state, and the Senate, consisting of two

representatives from each state and, until the

ratification of the 17th

amendment in 1913,

elected by members of the legislature.

First Continental Congress

In the United States, Congress plays an

important part in the balance of powers

relationship between the executive, judicial, and

legislative branches of the government. As the

federal representative of the legislative branch,

Congress is responsible for drafting and passing

legislation to govern the land. Congress is also

responsible for putting the other branches of the

government, both executive and judicial, on

trial. Along the same lines, Congress is the only

branch of government capable of altering the

United States Constitution, on which the United

States government is fully dependent.

History of Congress!


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Despite America’s attractive promise as the

“land of the free,” the United States has a deep and

storied past with slavery. Beginning in the colonial

days, early settlers imported African slaves to work

in their homes, businesses, and plantations. In the

decades following the Revolutionary War, demand

for slaves steadily increased as commodity crops,

in particular cotton, became more profitable

through inventions such as the cotton gin.

At the same time, abolitionist movements

spread through the Northern States. By 1804,

every state north of the Mason-Dixon line had

passed some form of anti-slavery legislation or

constitution. While many of these early

abolitionist laws preferred a gradual freeing of the

North’s slave population over an immediate

switch, it is important to note that the states of the

time unified as either “slave states” or “free states.”

The tension between the two sides can be seen as

far back as the Northwest Ordinance of 1787,

which involved a battle in Congress over whether

or not to free the slaves already present in that

territory.

Map After the Northwest Ordinanc

As time progressed, a series of

compromises led to a nationwide competition

between the Slave States and the Free States over

representation in Congress. On the Senate side,

the groups needed to ensure that there were an

equal number of each type of state. In the House,

they battled to influence the way that governance

of slaves worked including runaway laws and

other such issues.

TOPIC I.

Creating a System for Accepting New States to the Union Topic History !


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The year is now 1820. The “Missouri

Compromise,” as our textbooks refer to it, is

fighting its way through Congress. During the last

session of Congress, the first form of the Missouri

Compromise went before the House. This bill,

presented as a compromise between the pro-

slavery and anti-slavery factions of Congress,

allowed for the admission of the Missouri

Territory to the Union after it drafted its own

constitution and created its own government. In

effect, this allowed the people of the Missouri

Territory to govern themselves while waiting to

make their way through the process of being

admitted to the Union.

While in debate in the House,

Representative James Tallmadge of New York put

forth the Tallmadge Amendment which declared

that no further slaves should be introduced to the

Missouri Territory and all children born to slave

parents should be freed upon their twenty fifth

birthday. The compromise, including this

amendment, passed the House in February of

1819. The Senate, on the other hand, could not

accept the Tallmadge Amendment and thus the

bill was quashed not, however, before the

Tallmadge Amendment could create an uproar in

the South.

Because Alabama was recently admitted as

a slave state, the United States had an equal 11

slave states and 11 free states. Had the Tallmadge

Amendment passed, it would have skewed the

nation toward the free states. This helped instill in

the Southern states a deep fear of an overly strong

federal government that could eventually destroy

the system of slavery necessary for Southern

plantation owners’ way of life.

The new form of the bill now under

consideration allows for the admission of Maine as

a free state, the exclusion of slavery from the

Louisiana Purchase, or the territory above the

parallel 36°30! north, and a provision allowing the

people of Missouri to determine their own policy

toward slavery, effectively marking them a slave

state, despite its position above the 36°30! parallel.

Portrait of James Tallmadge The first issue on which this committee

will deliberate is whether or not to pass the

Missouri Compromise, and, if it is enacted, what

its form should take. Many Americans in the mid-

1800s believed that the Missouri Compromise was

a fundamental aspect of the American legal system

and that it helped delay the beginning of the Civil

War. Delegates should consider whether or not

they believe the Missouri Compromise properly

situated the nation to weather the storm of slavery

policy and the various foreign policy issues which

threatened the nation during this time. There are

several factors that weigh in to the various

Current Situation


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decisions made by the states during this period.

First, Southern slave owners were entirely

economically dependant on their slave

populations. Particularly due to the 3/5ths

Compromise, plantation owners wielded a

disproportionately high voting weight. This means

that their representatives in Congress were focused

on protecting those plantation owners’ way of life.

This was dependant on slavery. Particularly in the

Senate, although also in the House, this meant

that slave states must be added at at least the same

rate, if not a higher rate, than free states. Many

Southern plantation owners and Congressional

representatives deeply feared that Northerners

would seize control of the Federal government by

expanding the number of free states and use the

federal government to free their slaves, effectively

stripping them of their way of life.

On the other side of this coin, of course, is

the fact that Southern plantation owners staked

their livelihood on the enslavement of an entire

race of people. This was not agreeable to many

people in the North. In fact, many historians

believed that the 3/5ths Compromise was only

agreed to under an intent to have it quickly

removed once the new-born nation had grown

stronger. Instead, Northerners believed, it had

been used to give the South and slave states a

disproportionate representation in Congress,

particularly over the non-slave holding or small

time farmers of the South who did not own slaves

and thus did not wield such a large vote.

On top of these issues, the United States

was still a very young nation. It had not even been

around long enough to celebrate its 100th

birthday. Compared to European nations of the

time, the United States was a baby and its future

was in constant question. Because of this, many

states, both in the North and South, believed that

they needed to defend themselves from their

fellow states lest one state or region seek to gain

too much power.

Now, back to the issue at hand: The

Missouri Compromise. In drafting a new form of

the Compromise, delegates should guide their

analysis and subsequent rebuilding of the Missouri

Compromise along a few lines. First, how does the

compromise alter the current number of free and

slave states?

In its current form, the bill would

maintain the balance between Slave and Free states

by increasing the count of each by one. Maine

would bring the free states up to 12 and Missouri

would do the same for the slave states.

Is this a good thing?


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Politicians at the time certainly believed

that maintaining the balance between slave and

free states was necessary. Northern Senators

helped block the Tallmadge Amendment. While

Northerners were frustrated by the

disproportionate influence of Southern

slaveholders, they recognized the need to allow the

still-young nations political mechanisms to gain

legitimacy. Since the founding of the nation,

Southern slaveholders had wielded

disproportionate influence through the infamous

three-fifths Compromise. This Compromise

counted slaves as three-fifths of a vote to be cast by

their owner. This gave slaveholders

disproportionate influence over Southern non-

slave holding whites and allowed them to

effectively rule Southern politics. Despite these

frustrations, Northern politicians sought to

maintain the political balance, Southern politicians

feared an increasingly powerful federal

government. As delegates in this committee, we

expect you to appropriately represent these issues

as they would have been represented in the time

period.

Second, how does the compromise permit

for the addition of potential future states and how

do those states fit into the balance of free and slave

states? This is a particularly contemptuous issue

considering the need to defend a peoples’ right to

sovereignty and choice of rule while still

maintaining the balance necessary to allow the

operation of the United States federal government.

Further, the safety of the individuals in those

regions must be considered in weighing methods

of self-determination in relation to the question of

slavery.

We do ask that delegates remain true to

whichever state they represent -- whether that

means supporting the expansion of slavery or

fighting for the emancipation of slavery or some

sort of middle ground

However, this should not restrict delegates

to a strictly “North vs. South” style of debate.

Rather, delegates have room to compromise and

faction based on different styles of territorial

expansion and emphasis on the protection of

different rights listed above.

Some delegates may support aggressive

territorial expansion leaving the question of

slavery up to the people of the new state. Others

will support careful planning to maintain the

balance of Slave and Free states in the Union.

Others will fall in a middle ground between the

two extremes.

On the surface, this committee lends itself

to a relatively simple breakdown of voting blocs.

Afterall, the entire controversy of this time period

was based around the concept of free and slave

states. Northern States were clearly in favor of

policy which spread freedom to new states as they


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were incorporated to the union and the Southern

States, on virtue of their dependence on slavery for

their economic status, relied on slavery for their

way of life.

Similarly, and particularly among the free-

states, there was a significant amount of

disagreement over what form “freedom” should

take. Each state dealt with the status of its African

American population in different ways, and these

differences allowed for significant differences to

arise in the way each state viewed policy decisions.

Furthermore, some states were willing to work

across the “slavery aisle” to maintain the status

quo in the slavery question while other states

sought the abolishment of slavery as a whole, or

the spread of slavery to a majority of new states

inducted to the Union after 1820. In these regards,

there is room for many different coalitions to form

between states from all of the geographic parts of

the United States present during this time period.

Third, delegates should consider the

message that the Missouri Compromise will send

to other nations. The United States is still a young

nation. Should another country come to believe

that the nation is too splintered or can be easily

factioned, they may attempt to instigate war

through funding one faction or another. This

would lead to increased fracturing of the arguably

already weak Union through increased rhetoric

and in-fighting. This, of course, could easily lead

to the outbreak of a Civil War similar to the one

that occurred in history.

Fourth, we as a committee have the luxury

of hindsight to know that the expansion of the

United States into the West meant the Native

American populations living in those spaces was

entirely destroyed. Toward this goal, there was a

significant amount of fighting and bloodshed on

the frontier. While the Federally encouraged

expansion of the United States cannot be avoided

in this committee, it’s eventual impact on the

frontier should not go without consideration.

While the issue of the rights of Native Americans

was not one that politicians of the time put much

thought to, this committee will handle this issue

through the lens of the safety of the frontier.

Bleeding Kansas: American fighting on the frontier after 1820


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Fifth, and perhaps more important than

anything else, delegates should always take into

account the importance of upholding the United

States Constitution and the core values of the

United States of America, such as freedom, liberty,

and equality. As a fledgling, relatively untested

nation, it is of the utmost importance that any bills

passed by this committee support the principles

laid out by the founding fathers of the United

States. If the actions of this Congress do not

uphold these principles, it will certainly cast

doubts on the security and sustainability of the

world’s first democracy. This time period in

history was instrumental in establishing the

United States as a secure, independent, and long-

lasting nation.

Finally, delegates should attempt to find

new and creative ways of framing and solving the

problems presented by the Missouri Compromise.

A truly creative solution to this problem will

handle the issues mentioned above but will solve

them in an out-of-the-box way addressed neither

by history nor this topic guide. These kinds of

solutions will both stand out on their own merit

and will help delegates to prepare for the kind of

fast-paced analysis that will take place in the

second half of this committee. Both of these will

help a delegate to stand out in consideration for

awards.

Speaking of the second half of the

committee, since the decisions made regarding the

Missouri Compromise hold the potential to

irreparably alter the flow of American History as it

is construed in this committee, there is no way for

delegates to predict exactly what kind of issues will

arise as the timeline of our committee moves

forward. That being said, delegates can and should

prepare to deal with many of the situations which

arose during the Antebellum period. This may

include, but is not limited to, wars with Native

Americans, the Texas Revolution, the addition of

new states, the uprising of social movements, such

as the Second Great Awakening, the passing of

famous Supreme Court Decisions, and the

presence of sometimes-unfriendly Presidents in

the White House. Delegates should aim to have a

solid understanding of why the events in American

history from 1820-1865 occurred and how they are

related to the question of slavery as these questions

will help the delegates to form a more educated

stance on the specific issues that arise during the

conference, even if they are not true to history.

The Great Awakening

Because delegates will be forced to deal

with the aftermath of their decisions regarding the

Missouri Compromise, delegates should be sure to

put careful consideration into the three main

points outlined regarding the Missouri

Compromise. Once a bill has been passed,


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delegates should expect to move forward through

history.

Map of United States after Missouri Compromise


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Questions to Consider!!Missouri Compromise:

1) What are the long term repercussions of this compromise?

How will this compromise establish a system of admitting new states and facilitating the expansion of

the United States while maintaining some sort of balance between the slave and free states?

2) Does this compromise provide a short-term fix to the issues it is intended to address?

This compromise, while influencing the long-term political landscape of the United States, was not

originally intended to do so. Delegates should be sure that the compromise fixes the issues surrounding

Missouri.

General:

1) What are the constitutional repercussions of the bills enacted?

Delegates should always keep in mind the frailty of the Union at this time. Any foolish actions on the

part of Congress could easily send the Union into civil war, or bring about invasion from an outside

force.

2) Am I staying true to the motivations of the State I represent while being respectful and mindful of the atrocity, which is slavery?

Half of the delegates in this committee will be expected to argue for the expansion of slavery in the United

States. Today, we know that this is wrong and we know that the marks of slavery are being born by this country

and its people to this day. This topic is an important one to discuss but it is also one to around which to be

conscientious and respectful.!


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Bloc Positions! At the start of this committee, there are

two “main” blocs.

1) There are the slave states:

Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, South

Carolina, Virginia, North Carolina,

Kentucky, Tennessee, Louisiana,

Mississippi, and Alabama.

2) And, of course, the free states:

New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut,

Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New

York, Rhode Island, Vermont, Ohio,

Indiana, and Illinois.

While these blocs will dictate a large

number of the decisions that delegates are free to

make, they should not be all-binding. As

mentioned in the previous section, there is

significant room for representatives to form new

blocs based on their beliefs on the need for

expansion, popular sovereignty vs.

the need for federal law, and the other issues

mentioned above. The way these blocs split was

largely based on the way history went. As the

nation expanded westward, more and more

states were in support of entering the Union as

“free states.” This, as discussed above,

threatened the slaveholders of the South and

caused Southern representatives to take a strong

“states rights,” anti-federal government stance.

As this committee develops, it will

follow its own version of history, thus delegates

will not be expected to follow the sub-blocs of

history. Rather, they should fight to either

expand or block the expansion of slavery

through whichever channels our new version of

history provides.

While this does mean that, in many

situations, the room will remain largely divided

in a slave-free split, this is not a problem within

our committee as this will force delegates to

truly test their compromising and diplomatic

abilities in moving toward resolutions to the

issues faced by this committee.

At the same time, delegates should expect to face

at least one issue during committee


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Role of the Committee! As the United States Congress, your task will be to govern the United States of America. With our

historical hindsight, we know that the situation in the United States from 1820 through the beginning of the

American Civil War in 1860 was a highly divided and contentious one. During this period, many compromises

were made, perhaps in ways they shouldn’t have been. Eventually, the Union crashed under the weight of its own

divisions. As the Antebellum Congress, your governing tasks will focus almost exclusively on issues, topics, and

crises related to slavery in the United States and the eventual path to Civil War.

As members of this Congress, your goal should be to find an alternate history which, hopefully, will allow

you to avert the horribly bloody American Civil War. At their core, the Slave States and the Free States have

irreconcilable goals. One is motivated by lifestyle and economics to support the spread of slavery while the other is

motivated by a commitment to justice to oppose said expansion of slavery. Congress is forced to do its absolute

best to avoid conflict between these two diametrically opposed parties.


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Structure of the Committee

Because this committee is going to represent both the United States House of Representatives and the

United States Senate, it will operate in a similar but simplified fashion to that of the actual United States

Congressional bodies. A simple majority of the voting parties will allow a bill (Resolution) to pass and be sent

along to the president -- represented by the Dais team/Crisis staff.

During debate surrounding the Missouri Compromise, it will be expected that delegates pass one and

only one final version of the bill. In MUN terms, this means only one Resolution will be passed in relation to the

Missouri Compromise. However, as the committee advances through time, there will be room for delegates to

pass multiple resolutions in relation to a single topic. Should the resolutions be conflicting, this will reflect poorly

on Congress’ ability to lead and will play out negatively as time advances.

This brings us to the most important aspect of the structure of our committee: the advancement of time.

Since we will be jumping through time, delegates should come prepared to make sudden and large shifts in their

topics of conversation. These shifts will occur only after delegates hahad a chance to vote on any and all bills that

may be in circulation. When the time shifts occur, the dais team, in conjunction with its crisis staff, will update the

committee on the effects their bills have had on the nation and what the current situation or issue at hand might

be. Some jumps in time will be small, some will be large. It all depends on the quality and repercussions of the

bills passed by the Congress.

During these jumps, the staff will do its best to provide a detailed update on the status of the nation, and a

detailed description of the new crisis facing the committee. At the introduction of new crises, the staff will provide

time to field Delegate questions which clarify the new situation faced by Congress. After this initial questioning

period, any further questions should be forwarded to the dais team in the form of a note.

Aside from referring to “resolutions” as “bills,” committee will be run in the standard fashion prescribed

by Parliamentary Procedure.


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Suggestions for Further Research

The following provides a good list of events and movements that occurred during the time period (note: please do

not learn the entire list, but use it as a refresher for the types of things that happened in the period):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_United_States_history_(1820%E2%80%9359)

Overview of the Missouri Compromise: http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Missouri+Compromise+of+1820

Bleeding Kansas & Compromise of 1850: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p2952.html

http://www.ushistory.org/us/27.asp



Please also make sure you are registered on the delegate forum, your advisors should provide you with a sign up ink. For the latest information, updates, topic guides and more, visit Yale Model United Nations online at: http://ymun.yira.org

For the second year, YMUN will be offering a competitive essay competition. For the rules and guidelines visit: http://ymun.yira.org/essay-contest/

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NOTES

1. WIRLS, D. (2007), The “Golden Age” Senate And Floor Debate in the Antebellum Congress. Legislative

Studies Quarterly, 32: 193–222. doi: 10.3162/036298007780907932

2. "Conditions of Antebellum Slavery." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2013.

3. Canada, Mark. "Antebellum and Civil War America." Antebellum and Civil War America, 1784-1865. University

of North Carolina at Pembroke, n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2013.

4. "Slave and Free States." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 11 June 2013. Web. 13 Nov. 2013.

5. "Institution." US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2013.

antebellum congress topic guide

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