Antebellum America: Democracy and Division

Politics and Culture in Antebellum America, 1815–1861 (Big Picture) The central theme of antebellum America

is the collision between democratic expansion and deepening inequality. During this period,

political participation increased and white male suffrage expanded, creating the appearance of a more democratic

society. At the same time, slavery, inequality, and sectional conflict

intensified rather than diminished. Politics and culture reinforced one another, hardening divisions

instead of resolving them. By the eve of the Civil War, these contradictions

made compromise increasingly impossible. ⸻ 5. Slavery as the Central

Political Issue Slavery stood at the center of American political life during the antebellum period.