Senate Acts to Preserve Political Balance
The Senate Acts to Preserve Political Balance refers to a pivotal moment in U.S. history when the Senate voted to admit Vermont and Kentucky as states in 1791, strategically coordinating the admission of a northern state alongside a southern state. This decision was significant in maintaining the North-South political balance within the Senate, a consideration that, while not the sole factor, played a crucial role in shaping political dynamics in the early years of the United States. The early republic faced a delicate equilibrium between northern and southern interests, particularly as the population and economic power began to shift towards the North due to industrialization.
The Senate's actions established a precedent that would influence political decisions for decades, particularly as new states continued to be added in both regions. The approach of admitting one state from each region was aimed at preserving parity, exemplified by the Missouri Compromise of 1820, which similarly timed the admissions of Missouri and Maine. As the population disparities grew, particularly by the mid-19th century, the South's strategy to maintain its political influence became increasingly critical, ultimately leading to tensions that contributed to the Civil War. This historical context underscores the complexities of early American statehood and the negotiation of power between diverse regional interests.
Senate Acts to Preserve Political Balance
Senate Acts to Preserve Political Balance
On February 12, 1791, the United States Senate voted to admit Vermont into the Union as a state and transmitted the appropriate legislation to the House of Representatives, where it was ultimately approved. A few weeks earlier, the Senate had also voted to admit Kentucky as a state. This legislation was also ultimately approved by the House.
The admission of Vermont and Kentucky to the Union is covered in more detail at March 4 and June 1, respectively. Although a variety of considerations were involved, it is historically significant that the Senate chose to coordinate the admission of a northern state with the admission of a southern state. The result was that the North-South political balance in the Senate would not be disturbed. Although it was probably not the dominant consideration at the time, it established a precedent that would affect politics for seven decades until the Civil War.
When the United States Constitution was written in 1787, North and South were roughly balanced in terms of economic and political strength. In fact, in certain ways the South was the stronger, since Virginia had the largest population of all the states and the first president, George Washington, was a Virginian. In the House of Representatives, where representation is based on population, Virginia received 19 seats, more than any other state, after the first census was taken. The country's population was fairly evenly distributed among the other northern and southern states. For example, both New York and North Carolina received ten seats each in the first House of Representatives. Southern cities were on a par with northern cities: Charleston, South Carolina, ranked with Boston, New York, and Philadelphia as one of America's major urban centers. Thus, as one of the “big” states, Virginia had initially resisted the Constitutional Convention's decision to establish a Senate wherein every state regardless of population would receive two senators. Virginia's outlook would change dramatically over the next several decades, however.
In the 19th century, America continued to expand westward, and new states were added in both the North and the South. However, the population growth of the North greatly exceeded that of the South, in part due to the wave of industrialization which largely bypassed the agrarian South. By 1850, the date of the last pre–Civil War apportionment of delegates to the House of Representatives, New York had four times as many seats as North Carolina, and Virginia had become one of the smaller states in the House. Thus, in the years leading up to the Civil War, the South had to maintain its political influence by preserving political parity in the Senate. Since neither the North nor the South wanted to stop the admission of new states to the Union, a compromise was reached: A new southern state would be admitted for every new northern state. Both sides would thus receive an equal increase in the number of United States senators. In the Missouri Compromise of 1820, for example, the admission of the southern state of Missouri and the northern state of Maine were timed to coincide.
Of course, with the Civil War this political juggling act that found its precedent with the Senate's vote on February 12, 1791, came to an end.