In 1847 the Wilmot Proviso struck the keynote of popular sentiment, and the Barnburners, leaving the convention the instant the friends of the South repudiated the principle, sought to stay the aggressiveness of slavery.
This passage discusses the pivotal role of the Wilmot Proviso in shaping anti-slavery sentiment and the actions of the Barnburners.
Share
More from De Alexander
As he lived, so he died, a strange, lonely, unhappy man, out of tune with the beautiful world in which he was permitted to exist upward of four score years.
Perhaps, on the whole, nothing in Van Buren's official life showed greater political courage or discernment.
He saw the importance of devoting the resources of the State to the reduction of its debt.
The act and the veto amounted to an appeal to the people, and in an instant the country was on fire.
Other voices in this conversation
