Fort Sumter Research Paper

The secession of South Carolina on December 20, 1860, by a vote of 169-0 was a response to the election of Abraham Lincoln of 1860. Lincoln perceived as an abolitionist wanted to contain slavery rather than ending it. The majority party above the Mason-Dixon line were Republicans and below were primarily Democrats and Republicans were viewed as abolitionists. The election of a Republican threatened the South’s status quo. The primary catalyst for secession was based on slavery. Different social cultures and political beliefs developed due to the South’s intimate and reliant relationship on slavery. Southern whites feared the end of slavery and this paranoia was shared among plantation slave owners and white Yeoman farmers. Southern whites felt that the North were threatening the supposed tranquility of the South. The South’s agrarian economy, honor, and independence were believed to be in danger. Slavery was intertwined with the South’s social, cultural, and economic makeup. As a result of slavery, the South developed a paternalistic culture and racial ideology of white supremacy. The perceived notion that the North was influencing it’s political and social beliefs on the South lead them to believe that secession was the only act of self-preservation. The growing differences between the South and North made it difficult to negotiate. This fear was exaggerated and accelerated the South’s eventual implosion. The South believed that without slavery it would self-destruct and

Tensions between the North and South had grown steadily since the anti slavery movement in 1830. Several compromises between the North and South regarding slavery had been passed such as the Nebraska-Kansas and the Missouri act; but this did little to relieve the strain. The election of President Lincoln in 1861 proved to be the boiling point for the South, and secession followed. This eventually sparked the civil war; which was viewed differently by the North and the South. The Northern goal was to keep the Union intact while the Southern goal was to separate from the Union. Southern leaders gave convincing arguments to justify secession. Exploring documents from South Carolina’s secession ordinance and a speech from the Georgia

Before the civil war, the country was dividing between the north and south, Problems included the states’ rights and disagreements over tariffs hi but the greatest divide was on the issue of slavery. Slavery was legal in the south but had been banned by sets north of the Mason Dixon line. With the election in 1860 of Abraham Lincoln who ran a message of containing slavery to where it currently existed and the success of the republican party to which he belonged. South Carolina issued a proclamation on December 24, 1860, to explain its reasons for seceding from the United states. An official secession convention met in South Carolina following the November 1860 election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the united states on a platform opposing the expansion of slavery into us territories Years after the wars end claims were made that South Carolina decision to secede was created by other issues such as tariffs and taxes but these issues were not mentioned at all in the deceleration The primary focus of the declaration is the perceived violation of

At the time just before the civil war, the Northern states and Southern states were divided into one main issue: slavery. The North tended to HATE slavery and the Abolitionists were common. The South felt threatened by this, because the capital was in the north, and it seemed like the government was completely on the side of the north. Starting with Wilmot’s proviso, which first made southerners think that Congress were abolitionists. Next the Kansas-Nebraska act or bloody Kansas, with both sides getting violent, it just added to the conflict between Northerners and Southerners.

First South Carolina solicited a convention to leave the Union and with the time other stated joined until it was formed the confederacy. The first motive of separation from the Union was when the Continental Congress tried to custom all the colonies and population, including slaves. Also, the secession has relationship with the Whig viewpoint, which demanded a rebellion against authoritarian government. Generally the issues of the main cause were the different opinions about slavery and the states’ rights. Especially the main cause was the election of Abraham Lincoln as a president, he want to avoid the expansion of slavery to new territories, southerners were worried that abolitionist government would end with slavery and their lifestyle would change dramatically.

The Civil War was fought from 1861-1865.(Masur,L 2011) One of its main components was slavery. Many northern states fought to end slavery, while the southern states wished to fight to keep slavery and protect its rights.(civilwar.org) The Southern states economy was dependent on cotton which to them made slavery a necessity, while the North was becoming a more industrialized economy.(Masur,L 2011)The separation in economic needs helped to create a divide between the two sections.(ushistory.org) In addition to the economy, southern states pushed for nullification. They did not believe that the Federal Government should impose its will on the states. (Masur,L 2011 pg4) The election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 did little to reassure the south that their rights to own slaves would be upheld and was basically a final straw for many southern states. (civilwar.org) There were a total of eleven states that would secede from the Union from 1860-1861 prior to the start of the Civil War. These states in order of secession were

What was the Battle of Fort Sumter? Fort Sumter was an island battle in the civil war (1861-1865). The fort was built in 1829. It’s located in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. Fort Sumter was unfinished until U.S. Major Robert Anderson moved his men into the fort in 1860.

The secession of the South right after Abraham Lincoln’s election asserted that the South would not have slavery abolished (Corrick 21). Differences in views on slavery caused several states in the South to threaten to secede (Ushistory). The South supported slavery and held pro-slavery movements in several states, while the North believed that slavery was not constitutional and should be abolished (Civilwar.org; Cavendish). However, the North did not make any laws proclaiming the legality of slavery, but pushed the abolishment of slavery across the United States even further. Due to the secession of the southern states, tensions inevitably increased between the North and the South, thus leading to the start of the Civil War.

On April 12-14, 1861, the Battle of Fort Sumter happened. The location of the Battle of Fort Sumter is near Charleston, South Carolina. General P.G.T Beauregard, who was the commander of the Confederate army, ordered for the Union’s surrender of the Fort. However, Major Robert Anderson stood his front and refused to surrender which resulted in the Confederates opening fire on the Fort on April 12. Major Robert Anderson was unable to return the gunfire for the first two hours as the fort lacked ammunition and fuses. Abner DoubleDay, who was captain of the Union army, was the one who fired the first shot to defend the fort. The firing continued all day but lessened as the Union Army had to save their ammunition. On April 13, Major Robert Anderson decided to surrender the fort and it was a victory for the Confederates. There were 580 forces engaged, 80 from the Union and 500 from the Confederates. The important figures in this battle are General P.G.T Beauregard, Major Robert Anderson, Edmund Ruffin, Abner DoubleDay, Louis Wigfall, Private Daniel Hough, and Private Edward Galloway. Surprisingly, there were no casualties in this battle. It has major significance as it was the site of the first

In conclusion, the South might have or might not have wanted to secede from the Union. If the South wanted to secede from the Union they were not justified. The reason behind that is just because they had a different way of life doesn’t mean they actually could secede, The South also did not have any good reasons for seceding from the Union. There might be a chance that the South was forced to secede from the North. The North might have been angered that the South had slaves so they pushed the South

Confederates quickly shed their American identity and adopted a new Confederate nationalism. Confederate nationalism was based on several ideals, foremost among these being slavery. This mindset brought problems into the infrastructure of the new government. Since the Confederacy was newly founded, it had little funds to operate as a country so the rich southerners used their money to fund it with controlling interest. Since the south lacked industry, it heavy relied on the plantations as the main income for the country’s economy. They had to rely on the export of resources from the plantations to acquire funds, but since production relied on a lot of conditions it was not a stable source of income like the industrialized north. Since the government was founded on slavery there were a lot of countries that disagreed with the slave trade so the confederacy did not gain many allies that would help them in the shirt time that they were in control. With the Union government having contracts and business with most of the countries in this time, when Lincoln declared his inaugural address, that the secession was legally

Part 1:The secession of 1860 could not be blamed on one event or idea. The conflict was due to decades of tension and conflict as Americans struggled to create systems of law governance that balanced out the interest of individuals, states, and the federal government. One of the major reasons was due to slavery, which has been an important topic in politics. As early as 1775 all colonies allowed slavery but as the years came, the North and South started to divide.

Though South Carolina was well-supported by the Confederate militia as they flooded Charleston with aid for its cause, Fort Sumter did not deliver the expected defensibility. More than three thousand militia members arrived ready to defend the secession and rid Fort Sumter of its Union occupation. Major Anderson was staffed with about 80 Union soldiers to defend Fort Sumter. However, the fort’s construction was never completed following its inception in 1820, and it was not equipped with a full armament of weapons, either. It was intended to maintain an armament of 135 canons, but only 15 canons were in usable conditions, including mounting. The five foot thick walls were intended to be the defensive requirement from a land based attack from

On April 12, 1861 the Civil War had begun. The Civil war was one of the most deadly wars for Americans, because every person that fought in the war was American. A civil war is when two or more groups of the same country fight against each other. That is what happened to America. The base was located in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. The fort was a Confederate owned base in the south. The battle of fort Sumter was important because it was a major turning point, the cause of the war; also the battle that had the first shots of the war.

It then also sparked four more states to secede which included, Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Tennessee. The four states that seceded last believed that Lincoln was not a right fit for the United States and believed he made the wrong call on slavery in the new states. These states feared that if new states were being added to the union as free states that soon, they would try to take slavery away from the states that already had slavery in their states. The states that seceded wanted to be on their own and wanted their own functioning government because they had disagreed with the one they had. However, their intention were to keep slavery.