How the Wilmot Proviso Inflamed North-South Divisions in 1846

As the United States grew and expanded into new territories in the early to mid-19e century, the divisions also deepened. At the heart of these divisions is the issue of slavery. In 1846, a representative from Pennsylvania named David Wilmot proposed legislation to ban the expansion of slavery in lands acquired after the Mexican-American War.

The Wilmot Reservation was not adopted, and debate over the proposal heightened North-South tensions. “It’s part of a larger, broader discussion about the future of slavery,” says Dr. Miller W. Boyd III, a historian, teacher, and lecturer in St. Louis, Missouri. “It’s a small link in a long chain that goes towards civil war.”

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