Not Only Slavery: The Cause Of The Civil War

Throughout the 1800s in America, slavery was a controversy between the north and the south. A Slave was one who was the property of another human being under law and was forced to obey them. The North felt that slavery was unfair and inhumane, whereas in the South, they felt as though slavery was crucial to their success. African American slaves were not allowed many rights: they were not allowed to testify in court against a white person, could not receive an education, or even sign contracts. Due to the brutality they faced each day, many slaves escaped with hopes to find freedom. The Underground Railroad, a system utilized by many runaway slaves to help them escape from the South to Canada, played a large role in the downfall of slavery and eventual abolition in the United States following the Civil War.

The American Civil War occurred between April 12, 1861, and May 9, 1865, and began due to the long-standing controversy of slavery in the country. Shortly after Abraham Lincoln took office, Confederates attacked Fort Sumter in South Carolina, and among the 34 U.S. states seven Southern slave states succeeded from the United States. More states seceded and the Confederacy grew up to eleven slave states. This split the country between the Union in the Northern states, and the Confederate States of America in the Southern states. One big disagreement many Americans have today is whether slaves rights was the cause of the Civil War or not. Charles B. Dew believes the Civil War was fought over slavery, using speeches and public letters of 41 white southerners who were commissioners and appealed to their audience the ideas of the preservation of slavery and white supremacy as his evidence. Gary W. Gallagher believes that the Civil War was not fought over slavery, and the main goal for Northerners was to preserve the Union, using letters of white Northern soldiers that do not show much concern for black people as his evidence. Frederick Douglass’s statement, “The cry of Free Men was raised, not for the extension of liberty to the black man, but for the protection of the liberty of the white” is valid because the Civil War was not fought for the equality of black people, African Americans were treated very poorly after the Civil War and the emancipation proclamation was passed for

Cotton was the king of the South. It was bringing in large amounts of money as the textile industry in the North grew. Slavery was vital to the economic well-being of the South, and when the North began to question the “peculiar institution” of the South the wall of civility between the two sectionalized areas began to crumble. Due to the growing issue of slavery in the 1850s, the United States of America was in a state of total disarray and turmoil. The tension that had always existed between the North and South over the matter of slavery was no longer ignorable. As the United States expanded to the West, the status of slavery in the new states erupted in a violence that could no longer be controlled by sectionalism. The peace treaties that had worked in the past became Band-Aids over stab wounds. Southern states began to leave the United States of America to form the Confederate States of America and war was declared as the South fired onto the forts of the North. The Civil War was caused directly by the issue of slavery; the fugitive slave act in the Compromise of 1850, Dred Scott v. Sandford, and Bleeding Kansas prove that slavery was the key factor in the eruption of the nation.

The American Civil War is also referred to as the war between the Northern and Southern States or the Rebellion War that began in 1861. Slavery was regarded as the main cause leading to the start of the war, as a high level of discrimination against the African Americans existed upon their arrival in the United States. The African Americans were either sold and traded by the elders in their villages or plucked from their native countries for a sometimes deadly transatlantic journey to serve wealthy southern families. They were not viewed as peers but as laborers and farmers. Americans who were rich and owned large plantations took the African Americans as their slaves. They suffered as if they were not worthy of compensation including working without pay and the standard consequence was lynching. During the period, they fought for their freedom, which was not given to them until the Civil War was fought. Consequently, they aligned themselves with the white men who were also soldiers in fighting for their freedom.

While it is certainly simple to attribute the start of the Civil War solely on the issue of slavery, the issues run much deeper. Even though slavery is one of the underlying causes of the American Civil War, issues regarding political and economic differences are also to blame for the start of the war. However, many of these problems that caused the country to split had their roots in the problem of slavery.

The Civil War, occurring between the years 1861 and 1865, was a devastating effect of sectionalism caused by the division of the country on the topic of slavery. Slavery impacted every aspect of the country, whether in the North or the South, though primarily in the South; major impacts were in the politics and economy of the early country ways which inevitably caused the Civil War.

Slavery started in America in 1619, when slaves came from Africa to Jamestown. They brought them over to get help with production of crops. In the time of Huckleberry Finn, the slave states were Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Florida, Virginia, West Virginia, South Carolina, Maryland, North Carolina, and Delaware. All the other states were known to be free states. When a new state came about, they used the Missouri Compromise line. All states above the line would be free, and anything below the line would be slave states. The slave states justified their use of slaves by saying that they needed help, and that they were kind to the slaves. Slavery helped lead to the Civil War,

The question of slavery and the rights of states to decide on the matter for themselves completely controlled politics in the years prior to the Civil War. Laws were passed, such as the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, which made it so any slaves that escaped were to be sent back to their owners. Not only would these runaway slaves be punished severely, but anybody who aided them in escape would also be subject to harsh punishment. These desperate men, women, and children had no protection in the legal system and were left with no options in life other than escape. Many of these escapees had to watch friends and family be beaten, sold, or even killed and were expected to work just as hard, like nothing had happened. After losing everything, it

The Civil War was during 1861-1865 . It was known to be the first modern war . It had very high numbers in death compared to any other war .Because this war followed the Industrial revolution ,this war was the beginning of new technologies, new weapons It was a war fought between the North ( Union) and The South (Confederates). The North did not want to keep slavery but the South did . Slavery was the cause of the separation between the two.There were many laws that were created that started conflicts. Some of those law were created to oppress slaves.Which caused the problems to get bigger. Eventually the U.S. Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Act. The Fugitive Slave Act states that if a slave runaway they should be captured and returned to their masters. Section 8 of the Fugitive Slave Act states that anyone who caught a slave would receive a payment of five dollars . Then the Dredd vs. Scott Decision , a decision made by the supreme court , that African Americans, free or enslaved , were not allowed to be citizens . When Lincoln became President he gave freedom to slaves . And because of that decision the South seceded from the Union .

Unrest ripples through the country like a wildfire as the discussion of war increases and a new threat to the country is debated. Although there were many different problems that led to the beginning of the American Civil War, slavery was the dominant cause of the Civil War. (Mendoza). The Northern states support anti-Slavery as the Southern states are pro-Slavery. These very two different standpoints ignited a fuse while they were left to slowly wait for the problem to finally explode into all-out war. However, these two sides did not fight with the older technology used in the Mexican war. Innovating ideas from the Mexican war, the generals and soldiers alike experienced the new found equipment that was introduced in this new era of war.

Many think that Union states and Confederate states went to war for only one reason – slavery. While slavery was the main issue happening, there were many underlying problems that caused the tension between the north and south. Events such as The Missouri Compromise of 1820, Nat Turner’s Rebellion in 1831, Bleeding Kansas in 1854, Dred Scott Decision of 1857, and the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 are a few of the major causes of the Civil War. All these events made northern states open their eyes to how serious the situation was in southern states.

In the last page of chapter 2, McPherson comes to a conclusion about what the Union and Confederate soldiers are fighting for and that is slavery. McPherson talked about a lot of different aspects to what the North and the South were fighting for. “The issue of slavery lay at the heart of what many soldiers on both sides thought they were fighting for” (McPherson, 46).

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.

The goal of the civil war was never originally to free slaves but slaves became a large part of the war. African American slaves overcame many challenges to finally receive their freedom. Many African Americans endured the chance to fight for the union and that immensely increased the man power of the union.

with the end of the Civil War came the end of slavery in the United States. Legally and constitutionally, the war resolved the single most important moral question that afflicted the