The Frontier Against Slavery by Eugene Berwanger traces the l9th century struggle to prevent the extension of slavery in the areas Northwest of the Ohio, California, the Plains states, and the Pacific Northwest. History has documented the moral and
economic issues behind the question of slavery and its extension.
Berwanger goes further and provides evidence that the resolution
of the "Negro Question" was fraught with deep racial hatred as
well. The prospect of residing in close proximity to free blacks,
who whites assumed would flock to their states to associate with black slaves, was a determining factor in the decision by nonslave states to reject the extension of slavery.
Supporters of slavery were extremely proactive in getting
state legislators to send petitions to Congress on the matter in
the area Northwest of the Ohio between 1787 1824. The main
impetus for their zeal was economic. Many were land speculators
who noted the reluctance of slaveholders to move to Ohio as long
as the slavery issue was unresolved: "Proslavery arguments
stressed that slavery would relieve economic distress and
increase the price of land" (16). Most of the new residents who
settled in the region were nonslaveholders, but held little
political influence. So committed were legislators to the
passage of laws that would guarantee slavery, and thus lure
slaveholders into the area, that the antislavery faction
concentrated on sending counter petitions to Congress rather than
waste time on futile attempts to dissuade local politicians.
Congress sided with the antislavery faction on the issue, which
led the proslavery group to suggest alternatives aimed at the
adoption of some form of limited forced labor.
Just as the Old Northwest was restricted legally by the dictates of Congress on the issue of slavery, the region was also limited regarding the degree of anti black ...