The American Civil War:
Causes, Victor, and Validity
Keagan Koerber
History 205
Professor Childress
December 9, 2014
The slightest mention of the American Civil War is enough to bring graphic and often horrifying images into one’s head: mountains of dead soldiers, amputations without anesthesia, and diseases running rampant. The Civil War was a war that no one wished for, it resulted in the deaths of several hundred thousand American lives, but it is often justified by its end result, which was the abolition of slavery. But could the Civil War have been avoided? The tensions between the North and South started with their divergent socioeconomic standings. The North was more industrial, with its economy relying on
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So Douglas introduced the Kansas-Nebraska Act to Congress, which created both the Kansas and Nebraska territories. The bill came under harsh criticism from Southerners who feared that both the territories would become free states, so in order to appease them Douglas proposed that Congress repeal the Wilmot Proviso, which was the part of the Missouri Compromise of 1820 that set the border of slavery at thirty-six degrees, thirty minutes north. But by adding that he angered Northerners who wanted to contain slavery in the South. This split the nation, with Congressmen voting based on their regional ties rather than with their affiliated party. Douglas managed to pass the Act despite this fierce sectionalism.
By 1855 the Whig party broke apart, the Northern Whigs formed the Republican party, which was a conglomeration of parties whose main goal was to abolition slavery. The Southern Whigs joined the Democrats, who were Southerners and wanted to keep slavery. Northern Democrats who voted for the Kansas-Nebraska Act saw a loss of political power while the Democrats in the South experienced a gain in political power from the Act. While the Whig party was not a main political power anymore its policies influenced the emergent Republican
The compromise regulated slavery in the western territories. Missouri compromise line to the Pacific: continue earlier method, divide nation in half (Lecture 9/29). At this point in history, the problem was politically stable. Thirty-four years later the movement was obliterated. The Missouri Compromise was passed by United States congress divisions opposed of slavery and in favor of slavery. The Missouri Compromise of 1820 was rescinded by the Kansas-Nebraska Act. The Kansas-Nebraska Act was stated by democratic senator, Stephen A. Douglas, as territory that is to be either free or slave according to popular sovereignty. Citizens were faced with a decision, which was previously decided by politicians. They were allowed to vote on the slavery regulation of their
Tensions between both sides arose when Douglas passed the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Senator Douglas felt that Kansas and Nebraska should be subjected to popular sovereignty like other western territories. Although the many temperate politicians like Abraham Lincoln wanted to avoid the Civil War and were fine with allowing slavery to die slowly. But, many influential political leaders of the 19th century were not. The South was interested in maintaining slavery to the new territories to increase their economy and political power. Due to lack of leadership neither side could come to a compromise, as Stephen Douglas put it what applied in the South could not similarly apply as in the north and vice versa (Doc 5), these were two distinct societies, but there was still room for a middle ground. The North had an interest in limiting the spread of slavery into the new territories for both purposes of controlling Southern political
But the underlying causes of it go much deeper: the North and the South represented two essentially different economic and social systems that could barely co-exist under one national government (Dew). Disputes over slavery reflect a deeper conflict between the two differing mindsets. While the North was building an industrialized economy of free citizens, the South relied on plantation farming, slavery being an integral part of it (American Civil War). Therefore, the secession movement of 1860 had deep cultural and social roots, which is why it led to such a massive
The Civil War was caused by the economics of slavery and the political control of that system, specifically being states’ rights on the federal powers of the government, the territorial expansion of the united states that led to the division of the two sides, and the election of President Abraham Lincoln which was the final event that sent the nation to war.
The Compromise of 1820 was one of the first temporary political compromises made to relieve tensions between the North and the South. It was created by Henry Clay, or also known as “The Great Compromiser”. He created it to position a boundary line to balance the number of the free and slave states. This prohibited slavery above the 36 30 Parallel, north of the Louisiana Territory. The Compromise of 1820 also entered Maine as a free state, however Missouri enters as a
Senator Stephen Douglas solves the problem by splitting Clay’s proposal in 5 different bills to allow member of Congress to vote on them separately, In the end, all 5 bills passed. In 1854 Senator Stephen Douglas introduced a bill to settle the issue of slavery in the territories. It organized the region west of Missouri and north of 36 30 N latitude. he hoped to make
From the beginning of the formation of this nation, there were differences growing between the Northern and Southern halves of the nation in an economic standpoint. The North and South had little to no relation between each other. The North provided multiple factories while the South was mainly agricultural. The South had so much distaste
“To get congressional support for his Chicago Route in January of 1854, Douglas Proposed organizing the Nebraska Territory for settlement and letting the people living there at the time of statehood decide the statue of slavery”(Kansas Encyclopedia n.pag.). The South greatly supported this idea of popular sovereignty. Douglas felt that this was a nicer way than saying whether or not he personally supported slavery. Instead, he could just be in favor of having the people decide which seems very democratic. However, this repeals that already made Missouri Compromise which states that there cannot be any slavery above the 36’30’ line. Because, in theory, the people of Kansas and Nebraska could decide if they wanted slavery, the South greatly supported this new Act. The North, however, did
Southern states objected to the expansion because it entailed creating two new free states under the conditions of the Missouri Compromise. The Kansas-Nebraska Act was designed to appease the southern senators by repealing the Missouri Compromise of 1820, which banned slavery above the southern border of Missouri, also known as the 36-30’ line. The Act invoked the principle of popular sovereignty, allowing the people to determine the region’s stance on slavery. Although there was vast opposition, Congress and the President signed the Act into law in 1854. Northerners and anti-slavery supporters, including future President Abraham Lincoln, became incensed and the relationship between the North and South worsened. The conflict that arose was a prelude to the violence of Bleeding Kansas and later, the American
The Kansas-Nebraska Act was a bill that distressed the north. It repealed the Missouri Compromise with the institution of popular sovereignty for Kansas and Nebraska. Popular sovereignty allowed the possibility of slavery in the northern territories. The north and south turned to violence in Kansas and Nebraska after their numerous attempts at compromising had failed.
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.
The causes of the Civil War were complex and have been controversial since the country began. Some causes include; states’ rights, economics, and slavery. The most recognizable and popular cause is slavery. The freeing of the slaves was an important moral issue at the time and one of the greatest causes of the civil war. "It was only by carefully avoiding the moral issue involved in slavery that Northerners and Southerners could meet on any common ground." (Goldston, 79). The time came in which our great country would finally address the moral issue of slavery. Although there are many different causes to the American Civil War, the main cause was slavery because other causes are rooted in the issue of slavery.
In 1860, the world 's greatest nation was locked in Civil War. The war divided the country between the North and South. There were many factors that caused this war, but the main ones were the different interpretations of the Constitution by the North and South, the Kansas-Nebraska Act, and the arrival of
The North turned slavery into a moral issue creating tension between the two distinct parts of the
Historically, the most common explanation for the cause of the bloodiest conflict in the history of North America was the incompatibility between the northern and southern economies. This is quite accurate but there are also other ancillary factors that played a significant part in pushing the north and south into war. First, was the debate over state’s rights---- which powers rightly belonged to the states and federal government ---- heated up during 1820s onward resulting very tenuous solutions--- the Missouri Compromise, the Compromise of 1850 and Kansas Nebraska Act. Second, exacerbating the tensions was the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860, who ran on a message of containing slavery to where it currently existed, and the success of the Republican Party to which he belonged struck fear into many southerners. Lastly, the growth and influence of the abolitionist