undreds slavery was a very sensitive subject, and some of the bad feelings that caused this sensitivity were caused by territorial expansion. With more lands being acquired the number of slave state and free state representatives in Congress became unbalanced. This caused great distress among the senators and representatives. For instance, free state members of Congress began accusing the slave state members of conspiracies. One such accusation was made by Charles Sumner. He proposed the idea that southerners wanted to acquire more land so they could implant slavery in the territories. With more slave oriented territories that would eventually became slave states, the South would have control of Congress. This is what Sumner called the “Slave Power Conspiracy.”Slavery stirred up a lot of hard feelings though the slavery issue was not the hottest of the problems associated with territorial expansion. War with Mexico and Great Britain worried many of the people who were against expansion. James Polk had been elected when the wars were on the verge of breaking out. The potential war with Britain was resolved early in Polk presidency. He obviously wanted nothing to do with Britain’s powerful navy, for he agreed to a compromise that gave the United States far less of Oregon than the public wanted.The Mexico situation was different in that Polk did not have the fear of Mexico that he had of Great Britain. Polk felt a war with Mexico would only prove profitable for the United States, so he inticed the Mexicans to attack. Once Mexico attacked, Polk claimed he had to defend the United States, for Mexico had invaded American territory. Polk claimed, “The cup of forbearance had been exhausted... [Mexico] had passed the boundary of the United States, has invaded our territory, and shed American blood upon the American soil.” (Tindall 587)Polk’s unexpected election, slavery conflicts, and the Mexican...
