Question- How valid is this statement? By the 1850's the Constitution, originally framed as an instrument of national unity, had become a source of sectional discord and tension and ultimately contributed to the failure of the union it had created. 1987 AP US History DBQ Essay. In 1782 Americans won their independence from Britain in the American Revolution. After the colonies won their independence, Americans created the Constitution. Its purpose was to replace the Articles of Confederation …showed first 75 words of 2109 total…

…showed last 75 words of 2109 total…in northern states, not returning them to their owners as was their duty under the Fugitive Slave act, the South threatened succession. It was the final straw when the North denied the Southern states the right to secession that Southerners thought was protected by the Constitution. The South thought the North was going against the Constitution that was the basis of the Union, so they broke from the Union going to war with the North.