Slavery as the Cause of the American Civil War Essay

Finally, in 1854, the first state high court declared the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 to be unconstitutional. The state of Wisconsin ruled in favor of abolitionist Sherman Booth, who had helped slave Joshua Glover escape to safety. The United States Supreme Court eventually overturned this ruling, declaring the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 to be constitutional and upholding the law. This political move frustrated the abolitionists, even those who considered themselves to be less extreme.

Between the sixteenth and nineteenth century, approximately 650,000 black Africans had been abducted from their homelands and brought to the United States. Many had been shipped across the Atlantic Ocean with the complicity of New England rum merchants and traders. But by the 1800s, the slave trade had stopped and slavery was illegal in the North. Most slaves in America by then had been born into their abject state. Yet slavery, centered in the South, dominated American life. Its cast its long shadow over national politics, local and congressional debates, and all the issues of territorial expansion within the United States. Abraham Lincoln had a Quote “ A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this Government cannot endure, permanently, half slave and half free…” (lincoln 21)

It violates the northern liberty because the north is forced to help bring runaway slaves back to the south and the northerners had to obey the law. Foner believed that the fugitive slave act was cruel because there were actual free slaves that were captured and returned just for money. This caused even more tension between the south and the north. Since there were free slaves that were captured even though they were free they had to go back to slavery because they were sold back to the south. This act was also a violation of the northerners liberty. The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 had a tremendous impact on the development of anti-slavery groups. This strengthen the development because this just gave an even greater reason to counter slavery. The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 also improved the development of the underground railroad. This increased production of the railroad that helped the slaves escape sooner. The railroad aided in the escape of the many slaves that were in the south. Northerners saw this bit as substantially more intrusive than the act of 1793, and their chemical reaction was swift. Many people resisted and defied the law. In 1851, for example, Frederick Wilkins, known as Shadrach, a fugitive slave from Virginia, was rescued from a Bean Town court and helped to evasion to Canada. In some areas it was difficult to find people willing to do the obligation required of commissioners under the bit. Juries ignored evidence and acquitted people accused of violating the act. In June 1851 Harriet Beecher Stowe began publishing her influential antislavery novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin, in weekly installments in the National Era magazine. In some sphere it was difficult to find people willing to do the responsibility required of commissioners under the human

lives would have been saved and blood need not have been shed in the name

was a bit on the part, more of a valid excuse for going to war. There

The United States was a divided country long before the Civil War, while some people would argue that slavery was the only cause of the Civil War, it is much more complicated than that. There are many other factors involved, such as irreconcilable differences in terms of their economic, political, and social beliefs on a national scale. Many people including myself had a primitive and unsophisticated view of what caused the Civil War, post war propaganda and moral righteousness have caused many people to believe that the Civil War was simply a thing of moral impurity on the part of the South, however it is much more complicated than that. Although slavery played a major role in the Civil

Although Northerns opposed the concept of slavery, they viewed blacks as inferior to whites. One main concern of the North was that freed or escaped slaves would overrun the North. This would lead to fewer jobs for whites as they competed against the freed slaves for the limited number of jobs. The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 (Avalon Project) was passed through Congress as a result of a compromise that allowed southern slaveholders to recapture their escaped slaves that fled across the Mason Dixon to Northern states.

“According to the Fugitive Slave Act, to seize an alleged slave, a slaveholder simply had to appear before a commissioner and swear that the runaway was his” (Roark 379). “The commissioner earned $10 for every individual returned to slavery, but only $5 for those set free” (Johnson 379) As a part of the Compromise of 1850 between Southern slaveholders and Northerners, the Fugitive Slave Act was passed by the United States Congress on September 18, 1850. Southerners were pushing for the Fugitive Slave Act, but the Northerners were opposing it because in 1793, a federal law authorized slave owners to enter other states to recapture their slave property. “Proclaiming the 1793 law a license to kidnap free blacks, northern states in the 1830s began

American Civil War of 1861 to 1865 was a great and bloody war fought between the North and South. Growing up, we were taught in history class that it was a righteous war to free slaves, a public outcry for human rights. Abraham Lincoln once said that slavery “was somehow the cause of this war” (The American Pageant, 2006, p.348). But as we dig further, he also denied the intention to initiate a civil war, stating in his inaugural address that, “I have no purpose, directly or indirectly to interfere with the institution of slavery in the United States where it exists. I believe I have no lawful right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so.”(Freedom on My Mind: A History of African Americans, 2013, p.325)Accordingly, we can’t help but ask what made Abraham Lincoln change his mind, or, what exactly was the

On September 17, 2011 thousands of protesters filled Zuccotti Park in front of Wall Street in New York City. Armed with peaceful protests and picket signs these protesters demanded change in the American system of equality. They fought for the cause they believe in: no one should be excessively wealthier than another person, and every American should have equal economic opportunity. This movement spread throughout the country with people captivated by the exuberance that fills these protests. This same passion that continues to fill these protesters once filled every American. However, in this instance Americans had enthusiastic, but opposing viewpoints about slavery. The North believed everything about slavery was morally wrong and that

After the Fugitive Slave Act, the slaveholders were active on capturing their property on black slaves in the north. A lot of Black slaves from North fled to Canadian border in the fear of being captured. The slaves on the South were already suffering while the slaves in the North were trying to free slaves in the south and this act (Fugitive Slave Act) created danger even to the slaves in the north which was already said

Throughout history, it has been commonly misconceived that slavery and the abolishment of slavery has been the sole cause of the American Civil War. Whereas the institution of slavery has been a major cause of the war, the differences in ideologies and beliefs between the North and the South also play a role in the origins of the Civil War. The origins of the Civil War can also be attributed to the political, economical, social, and cultural differences between the North and South during the 1800s. The Cornerstone Speech by Alexander Stephens, Vice President of Confederacy, and the Nast’s cartoon of President Lincoln’s inaugural allow historians to gain a deeper understanding about the causes of the Civil War, and also allow historians to learn how the differences between the North and South led to the Civil War.

The Civil War was brought about by three causes- slavery, state’s rights, and sectionalism. While there are more than these three, this paper will be discussing these issues. This paper will be discussing what the issues were, what each side's views were, and how they were resolved.

The Civil war was extremely significant as it impacted and shaped the future of America. Approximately 620,000 lives were lost during the war, which goes to show how the North and South were engaging in battles on a tremendous scale. Both Northerners and Southerners were ready to lose their lives over the values they held dear. However, the causes of the civil war were quite simple as it detailed the specifics on why the war came about. The civil war was not caused by extremism and a failure of leadership on both sides, but rather due to the distinct social and labor systems within the North and the South.

Slavery was favored in the South because it relied on the production of agriculture and more hands were needed to take care of the crops on plantations. On the other hand, the North opposed slavery because it was more industrial and it wasn’t necessary to have subordinate slaves. In the story Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Harriet Beecher Stowe constantly references the geographical difference between the North and South and Eliza’s dramatic leap across the Ohio River into freedom symbolizes her ultimate achievement as a slave r friends,”—all which she hoped in her heart might prove strictly true. "An hour before sunset, she entered the village of T—, by the Ohio River, weary and footsore, but still strong in heart. Her first glance was at the river, which lay, like Jordan, between her and the Canaan of liberty on the other