Path to Civil War What were the three primary stances on slavery in the West? How was this debate over slavery addressed?

In the West, slavery was viewed primarily around three different ideological considerations:

An abolitionist position, which advocated for the total termination of slavery and the liberation of slaves throughout the territory, seeking to guarantee the full enjoyment of the natural rights of African Americans;

A pro-slavery stance, which defended the existence of slavery based on an "inherent inequality" between whites and other ethnic groups, which served as a justification for the exploitation of the latter in favor of the former;

And finally, an intermediate position, which neither defended nor rejected slavery, but left it to the citizens of each territory to decide whether they wanted slavery to operate in their territory or not.