Bleeding Kansas : The Primary Causes Of The American Civil War

In 1861, a Civil War broke out in the United States when the South declared their independence from the Union. There is a great amount of reasons that people can argue how the Civil War was started. However, what most people don’t understand, is that most of the events leading up to the Civil War were related to slavery. Slavery was the core of the North and South’s conflict, which led to a very vicious feud.

America’s transformation into the country we live in today has been formed through numerous events during its short history but the event that will split the United States into North versus South is truly one of the most defining events in American history. Through numerous events leading up to the start of the Civil War, I will attempt to show how the United States was destined for conflict and that the Civil War was inevitable. The first way I will show how the war could not be avoided will deal with the issue of slavery. Slavery should be the first mentioned because many conflicts within the United States leading up to the Civil War and the division of the United States dealt with slavery. The Missouri Compromise should also be talked

By the year of 1860, the North and the South was developed into extremely different sections. There was opposing social, economic, and political points of view, starting back into colonial periods, and it slowly drove the two regions farther in separate directions. The two sections tried to force its point of view on the nation as a whole. Even though negotiations had kept the Union together for many years, in 1860 the condition was unstable. The presidential election of Abraham Lincoln was observed by the South as a risk to slavery and many believe it initiated the war.

Channing felt that acquiring Texas would not only spark conflict with Mexico but would also create problems in the United States in regards to slavery. This issue over the extension of slavery in Texas presaged Bleeding Kansas, a series of violent political confrontations involving anti-slavery Free Soilers and pro-slavery Southerners that took place in the Kansas Territory between 1854

Rawley, James A. Race & Politics; "bleeding Kansas" and the Coming of the Civil War '

Finally, the issue of “Bloody Kansas” was a major political factor caused by westward expansion. Once it was resolved that Kansas’s stance on slavery would be determined by popular sovereignty, people flocked to Kansas to make their vote count. The “Border Ruffians” won the controversial vote, which resulted in Kansas being a slave state. However, the abolitionists refused to recognize the pro-slavery government, so they set up a second provincial government in Topeka, Kansas. This episode led to a skirmish between the Ruffians and the abolitionists, like in Lawrence, Kansas in May of 1856. This was a prelude to the actual civil war and showed that even if there was a “fair” vote to determine a Territories slave law, it didn’t mean that all the people would abide by the law. These political episodes involving the ever expanding west showed the weakness of the Union.

“Bleeding Kansas” had many senseless deaths and tragedies caused by the fight for slavery to either become a part of or become eradicated from the new state, Kansas. David Atchison was a major proslavery advocate who believed that slavery needed to be expanded because of its intrinsic value in the culture and economy of the South (Hollitz 210). Sara Robinson, on the other hand, believed that slavery was giving the South unfair political power while simultaneously giving them an economic power that was outdated and inhibiting to the future of the United States (213). Without ever meeting, these two influential figures went head to head in the issue of slavery and greatly influenced both of their parties. Robinson would eventually come out with the victory along with her “free soilers” group and would blaze a trail for many more to challenge the institution of slavery. Atchison would come to lose his battle and a portion of his great reputation and become known as the hell-raiser for his known and unknown relations with the violence during “Bleeding Kansas.” The events in Kansas seemed to bring up many issues that would come to change the face of the United States forever.

John Brown’s beliefs about slavery and activities to destroy it hardly represented the mainstream of northern society in the years leading up to the Civil War. This rather unique man, however, has become central to an understanding and in some cases misunderstandings about the origins of the Civil War. The importance of Brown’s mission against slavery was colossal to accelerating the civil war between the North and the South. His raid on Harpers Ferry in1859 divided the United States like nothing else before, and could have been the main event leading to the Civil War.

The Civil War was the war that divided the young American nation into two opposing sides. One side being the North, also called the Union, and the second side being the South, also called the Confederacy. The root cause of why the South seceded from the Union has been debated and argued since the beginning of the war in 1861. Most people argue that the argument, between the North and the South, over slavery was the main reason why the South left the Union. However, the issue has to be more complex than just the issue with slavery. The root cause of the of the South secession from the Union was a combination of the South’s aggravation and fear over their dependence on the North for their economic prosperity and their dependence on slavery for a highly profitable economy.

Bleeding Kansas was when two political parties confronted each other in a violent way. This fight was about slavery happening in the United states, the two parties were “anti-slavery Free-Staters (North)” and the “Pro-slavery forces (South)” (Wikipedia). Settlers had to decide whether they wanted slavery to keep going on or if they want it to stop.

From the time period of 1855-1858, the north and the south had a violent conflict on slavery, which became to be known as the Bleeding Kansas. The Bleeding Kansas was caused by the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 that allowed the people of Kansas to decide on whether to enforce slavery or not. Because Kansas was a territory in the north that abolished slavery, people in the north did not favor the act. This conflict added on to the hatred between the North and the

The role John Brown played the Civil War began in Kansas with his leading a "guerilla attack" on five pro-slavery men, on May 24, 1856. The targeted men were dragged, one after the other, from their homes and brutally murdered (Schultz, Mays, Winfree, 2010). The encounters were organized with the intention to rid the Pottawatomie creek area of all pro-slavery men that lived there (historynet.com). The strategy was designed as a counter attack for the Lawrence incident against abolitionists three days previously. The term "Bleeding Kansas" refers to the outbreak of violence the area experienced and suffered through. The division of Kansas at this time, half abolitionist and half pro-slavery, had caused a terrible friction throughout the territory.

During the 1850s, slavery had become a topic of great discussion, especially when it came to the organization of new territories, and whether slavery should be allowed or prohibited in these new territories. Some argued that slavery was right, while others though it was not and should be ended, causing fear and anger between the free-states in the North and the Southern Slave states. This would lead to many problems for the nation. These problems not only created a division between the northern and southern states, it caused blood to be spilled and led to beginning of the American Civil War. Within these events, four significant ones created the spark needed to start the Civil War. These events were the Kansas Nebraska Act of 1854, Bleeding Kansas, Harper’s Ferry Raid, and the Secession of the South from the Union, which created a division between northern and southern states and made the American Civil War inevitable.

“I believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free.” (Lincoln, “House Divided Speech”) Shortly after Lincoln spoke these words in 1858, the Confederate states officially seceded in 1860. This divided the nation in two and began a civil war that would last until May of 1865. Although the cause of the war was later twisted into looking like states’ rights, the actual cause of the Civil War was slavery.

In 1861, a horrific war began. Nobody had any idea that this war would become the deadliest war in American history. It wasn’t a regular war, it was a civil war opposing the Union in the North and the Confederate States in the South.. The Civil War cost many people’s lives on the battlefield and beyond. In addition it cost an extreme amount of money for the nation which possibly could have been avoided if the war had turned to happen a little differently.