A Renewed Debate Over Slavery
The war also renewed old debates on the westward expansion
of slavery; some historians have claimed that in many ways the Mexican
War was the first round between the North and South in the Civil
War. On one side were the Whigs and a growing number of abolitionists
in the North, who were adamantly against letting slavery spread.
Against them stood the entire South and a majority of Democrats,
who believed that expanding slavery was essential to the survival
of their economy and society. This debate became the major issue—really
the only issue—during the next decade until the outbreak of the
Civil War.
