The Frontier Against Slavery

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 17871824. 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 counterpetitions to Congr

. . .
an extent in the Northwest that exclusion laws were passed. In Kentucky, for example, blacks or mulattos were not allowed to enter or settle in the state. Whites who encouraged or supported such entry were fined. Although many state exclusion laws were not effective because they were difficult to enforce, they demonstrate the degree of racial prejudice that existed at the time. So vexed were whites regarding the potential influence of large numbers of free black settlers, many legislatures in the Northwest proposed colonization as the ultimate solution to the "Negro Question.ö Colonization was the voluntary removal of blacks to their native Africa. Colonization societies were established in several states including Michigan, Iowa, Ohio, Indiana, and Wisconsin. In the opinion of one colonization advocate, "a separation from the whites [is] essential to the prosperity of the colored man . . . colonization at some point [offers] to him his only hope of deliveranceö (55). Some blacks accepted offers to relocate to Africa, particularly Liberia; however, the colonization movement never caught on, partly because of lack of funding and partly because of the commitment of blacks to the country of their birth. Throughout the book,
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1510
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)

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