The Civil War
The name Civil War is misleading because the war was not a class struggle, but a sectional combat, having its roots in political, economic, social, and psychological elements. It has been characterized, in the words of William H. Seward, as the “irrepressible conflict.” In another judgment the Civil War was viewed as criminally stupid, an unnecessary bloodletting brought on by arrogant extremists and blundering politicians. Both views accept the fact that in 1861 there existed a situation that, rightly or wrongly, had come to be regarded as insoluble by peaceful means.
In the days of the American Revolution and of the adoption of the Constitution, differences between North and South were dwarfed by their
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Since slavery was unadaptable to much of the territorial lands, which eventually would be admitted as free states, the South became more anxious about maintaining its position as an equal in the Union. Southerners thus strongly supported the annexation of Texas (certain to be a slave state) and the Mexican War and even agitated for the annexation of Cuba.
The Compromise of 1850 marked the end of the period that might be called the era of compromise. The deaths in 1852 of Henry Clay and Daniel Webster left no leader of national stature, but only sectional spokesmen, such as W. H. Seward, Charles Sumner, and Salmon P. Chase in the North and Jefferson Davis and Robert Toombs in the South. Robert Toombs, for example, stated that “northerners” tried “to fix national degradation upon half the states of this Confederacy,” adding that he is “for disunion.” (Congressman Robert Toombs of Georgia, Response on the floor of the House to northern efforts to keep slavery out of the territories, December 13, 1849) Daniel Webster, from the northern side, supported the Compromise of 1850, criticizing the “abolition societies”: “Their operations of the last twenty years have produced nothing good or valuable, *…* they [with sending incendiary publications into the slave states] created agitation in the North against Southern slavery.” (Daniel Webster, Speech in the Senate supporting the Compromise of 1850, March 7,
The popular sovereignty used in New Mexico territories, the compromise of 1850 and the Kansas and Nebraska Acts were Victories of the south politically, however these acts were still seemed as "compromises" because both the north and the south were dissatisfied with these acts, that they could only be compromises but not victories. For the south the expansion of slavery was needed because the slavery was the foundation of southern society and economy, they had enjoyed less benefits from the fast developing northern industrial economy, if, without more lands and slaves moving to the new land, the expansion of production could not be achieved while their way of living could be challenged. For the northerners the process of industrial revolution went slowly in the south and with slavery the free labor could never come true. The Bleeding Kansas, Dred Scott Affair and John Brown created a sense that the movement of northern abolitionists had come to a climax, while the south itself, during the National Convention of Democratic Party, divided
The Political Disputes of 1820-1860 compromised and then broke down.In the 1800’s slavery was the main conflict between the states. The compromise began to break down when slavery began in the North and the South. The Anti-Slavery Convention report that an American citizen who owns a human being into involuntary and is forced to be his property is a Man Stealer, which means immoral people. (Doc.B) Senator Henry Clay said that it is impossible that South Carolina ever desired a moment to become a separate and independent state.(Doc.A). Senator Daniel Webster’s Judgment is that the South is right and the North is wrong.(Doc.C). Georgia thinks all northern, and especially the New England, states are devoid of society fitted for well-bred Southern gentlemen.(Doc.E) Abraham Lincoln ambitious Northern politicians. (Doc.F) Henry Clay, National
During the 1820’s, disagreement and other conflicts between the North and South had grown to such a high that compromise was needed to sort out their problems. Many of these disagreements flourished from unfair amounts of North to South representatives in Congress and which territories should be a slave state once new land had been acquired. Up until about 1850, compromise had been the key way of free and slave states staying united, but when most recent compromise (Compromise of 1850) failed, the South seceded. After this succession, America entered the bloodiest war of all prior and after.
In the former half of the Antebellum era, sectionalism between the North and South due to westward expansion wasn’t exactly intense.
Having all this said, fear became a factor. Having such an anti-slavery act created a strong feeling that the South would withdraw from the Union
The Civil War was one of the most deadliest wars ever fought in history. Slavery was a direct influenced this war that shed so many lives. It was also an issue that divided the North and South. Many Southerners directly depended on slavery and so did their economy. The Southerner’s persistence on expanding slavery towards the West not only led to the war but also a moral crusade. The treatment of a race in this manner was unacceptable and called for immediate change which was the result of the American Civil War.
The Road of the United States in becoming a truly united nation has not been a path without turmoil. Many lives were laid down to form the structure of this country and fought for its right to freedom. One of the bloodiest conflicts in the United States’ history was the war between states or more commonly referred as the Civil War. This war leads to much unnecessary violence ridden battles that were preluded by many causes. The Civil War had many profound effects on how the United States ran as a country, and the civil war was caused by the differing idea of slavery, the election of Abraham Lincoln, and the southern states seceding from the United States.
From the election of our third president Thomas Jefferson to the election of Honest Abe, the life between the North and the South differed tremendously. These disagreements resulted in tension between the two. Although they attempted to create togetherness with the Missouri Compromise, politically the Northern republicans who were for free states had difficulty agreeing with slave state ideas with the democratic southerners, economic wealth for the North was gained from manufacturing while the South’s wealth came from the manual labor of slaves, and socially North was positioned to abolish slavery but not segregation even though the South wanted both. These sentiments from both sides resulted in the beginnings of
In the 1850’s the United States was not so United. There had been many internal problems, that were tearing the entire country apart. Issues such as slavery, and power of the states were coming between the country. The south and north had been arguing about the issue of slavery for a very long time. The North was against it. They had set out to abolish it. But the south was growing very rich off it. It was cheap labor. Al the slave owners had to pay for was room and board, which was cheaper then paying salaries. Since the industrial revolution and the invention of things like the Cotton Gin the south had become a large producer of all things cotton.
Southerners relied on slaves to produce the cotton and considered those slaves as property, but Northerners felt that slavery was in violation of the Constitutional right to liberty,the pursuit of happiness, and equal rights. As the country expanded west and more states were added, there were more issues with sectionalism. When Missouri requested statehood, they wanted to be admitted as a slave state. If they had been allowed to join, the free states would have been outnumbered. Maine also wanted to become a free state.
The legacy of the Civil War included, changes in the institution of slavery, changes to the role and powers of the federal government, and economic changes. Before the Civil War the United States was divided on the issue of slavery. Some states permitted, even encouraged, slavery. While others outlawed it completely. This difference was due to a difference in the economic structure of the states. The Northern states that had outlawed slavery didn’t rely on them for finance. The North was dependent on manufacturing, which allowed them the opportunity to hire workers. The South relied on farming, which encouraged slavery. Furthermore, Eli Whitney’s invention of the cotton gin promoted slavery even more. The polar opposite views on slavery eventually caused the Civil War. Secession of eleven Southern states caused the The Civil War. Their secession was due to Abraham Lincoln’s election, even though he had not appeared on their ballots. Why hadn’t he appeared on their ballots? It was because he thought that slavery was immoral and he was on the “other” political party. The one that the South opposed. The Republican party. At the end of the war, Lincoln passed the 13th amendment,
Lasting from 1861-1865 The Civil war: one of the most bloodiest and alienated wars in the American History has had a tremendous impact on our past society, and modern as well. In the early 1800’s the United States accomplished harmony, alliance, and unification, eventually causing sectionalism to flourish. This controversy led to the famous bloody war, known as the Civil war. While the south wanted to separate, and become one, the north wanted to unite and have a peaceful relationship as a whole. In addition, slavery was a big dilemma between both the north and the south. A series of events that led to the Civil war include: The ending of the Mexican war(1848), The Fugitive slave act (1850), uncle tom 's cabin was released(1852), Kansas-Nebraska act (1854), charles sumner is attacked by preston on the floor of the senate (1856), Dred scott decision (1857), lecompton constitution rejected (1857), John brown raided harpers ferry (1859), and abraham lincoln being elected as president(1860).
In 1858, William Henry Seward presented a speech in Rochester, New York in front of a large group of mostly northern Americans. In this speech, Seward outlined that if the union was to stay, existing divisions had to be resolved somehow. Meaning that all of America would inevitably have to become either entirely slave, or entirely free (Seward, 1858). A similar tone could be seen when Abraham Lincoln, speaking of a policy of abolition, stated, “Under the operation of that policy, that agitation has not only, not ceased, but has constantly augmented. In my opinion, it will not cease, until a crisis shall have been reached, and passed. ‘A house divided against itself cannot stand.’ I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free” (Lincoln, 1858). At the time that these sentiments were uttered, there was no doubt in the minds of Americans that the conflict that was happening was inevitable; however, several twentieth century authors and historians began to argue that the war could have been completely avoided if diplomatic methods had been employed. Men such as Avery O. Craven and James G. Randall in the argued that no war can be justified and that the blame for starting that conflict can rest on the shoulders of both northern and southern extremists. Those extremists, Craven argued, were the reason that any debate was struck at all, and blew the entire argument way out of proportion (Cummins & White, 1979). Was the civil war truly an
When looking for the causes of the Civil War, one might start with the Mexican American War, which mainly began over the issue of the expansion of slavery. However, America’s sectional differences have been present since the country’s early days. In fact, one might argue that the United States was born to be split over issues on governance, with the seeds of secession sown as early as when the Founding Fathers created a new nation. Despite the many societal differences that each area of the United States has, the Constitution led to the split in the nation mainly by making these ingrained disparities more evident with its vague guidelines of how to handle the issue of states’ rights and the institution of slavery.
With the inauguration of Jefferson As President, it seemed as political issues in the new republic were not going to be that much of an issue. This political tranquility did not last the first 60 years of the 1800s. As the era of good feelings came to the end with the Whig party, the two party system, had returned to the United States. This development created further separation between the South and North as one party was dominant in one region and a different one in the other. As this separation was created, it helped create the inevitable was between the North and South. The only noticeable political similarity would be their Southern Code of Honor system and Northern “character”. It both represented that they each strived for living a specific way of life.