Unrest in Georgia
The interpretation of the state versus federal powers and the abolition of slavery formed the bedrock of political and constitutional tension in Georgia in the 1850s. At the time, the United States Congress had no powers to legalise slavery, and the Union had become stronger than individual states. These actions were a recipe for a deadly civil war that would claim over 700,000 American lives.
The criminalisation of slavery was the spark that ignited the tensions in Georgia State. The Georgia State Congress instituted a set of rules that criminalised any form of slavery. At the time, Georgia and other southern states relied on slave labour as a mechanism of production in their plantations (Parker 200). It was criminalising the activity that translated to an increase in production costs and the eventual collapse of plantation farming system that drove its economy. The authority introduced penalties for those involved in slavery, but the idea aggravated pro-slavery individuals to revolt against the Georgian government. This idea led to tension and eventual war.
Before the abolition of slavery, the State amassed power to the expense of popular sovereignty. Georgia became reluctant to relinquish and grant citizens an opportunity to choose whether to hold or free slaves (Carrington 573). The slaveholders became agitated with the State’s patron. The disgruntled slave owners who had migrated to Georgia from other states began to push the authority to give in to their demands. As a result, this rise of state power triggered a political crisis in Georgia that unfolded into civil war.
In conclusion, the interpretation of state versus federal power and the consequent abolition of slavery triggered a political and constitutional crisis in Georgia. The southern slave state owners feared to lose their livelihood since slaves supplied cheap labour for plantation farming systems. It also led to the emergence of Republican and Democrat parties that further polarised the state.
Works Cited
Carrington, Adam M. “Running the Robed Gauntlet: Southern State Courts’ Interpretation of
the Emancipation Proclamation.” American Journal of Legal History, vol 57, no. 4, 2017, pp. 556-584. Oxford University Press (OUP), doi:10.1093/ajlh/njx030.
Parker, David B. “The Short Life of Free Georgia: Class and Slavery in the Colonial South.”
(2019): 200-202.