Stephen Douglas was an American politician who became famous for being a broker of the Compromise of 1850. He advocated for popular sovereignty, stating that specific territories should be provided with the freedom to determine whether slavery should be permitted within their borders. Douglas was a western politician, and he made a claim when the country could not find a consensus regarding slavery issues, which became known as the sectional crisis (Locke and Wright, 344). The controversies referred to the fact that different opinions regarding slavery existed in America. Enslaved workers were essential for the American economy, while these individuals were not satisfied with their living and working conditions, which made them resist the existing state of affairs. One can suggest that Stephen Douglas contributed to the complete abolishment of slavery that occurred in 1865 because popular sovereignty allowed to ban of slavery in individual territories, which demonstrated positive consequences for society.
The bank war is the term in American history, and it describes the conflict between President Andrew Jackson and Nicholas Biddle, who was the President of the Bank of the United States. The reason for the struggle was that Jackson advocated for the existence of the only national bank in the country. This process took place in the mid-19th century when President Jackson wanted to prevent a limited elite group from gaining power and public control. The bank war also included a political battle between Jackson and some Republicans, Daniel Webster and Henry Clay, who offered support to Biddle. The conflict became the topical issue of the 1832 presidential election. Jackson won the battle and made an effort to ensure that the bank would not exist, which is significant because it demonstrated that the American banking system should not be controlled by limited elite groups.
Work Cited
Locke, Joseph, and Ben Wright, editors. The American Yawp: A Massively Collaborative Open U.S. History Textbook, vol. I: to 1877. Stanford University Press, 2019.