Slavery And 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

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.

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.

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.

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.

The Civil War was started by many events that proved to served sectional tensions, where the Kansas-Nebraska Act proved the tensions that had failed to be resolved. Northerners became more opposed to slavery, whether for moral or economic reasons, while Southerners became more united in their defense of slavery as an institution. Different ideas over slavery were shared. This caused sectional tensions and as the North and the South were trying to come with a consensus of what to do, things became more intense. Political sectionalism occurred because of certain events happening throughout the government. The repeal of the Missouri Compromise, which was followed by the Kansas Nebraska Act was a main cause in the lead of Civil War. Since the Kansas-Nebraska Act effectively repealed the Missouri Compromise, tensions regarding the issue and stance of slavery became more debated throughout the country.  As the North and the South became increasingly different, their goals and desires separated as well. Arguments over national policy became more aggressive. Between the 1840s and 1850s, both the North and South evolved extreme positions that had as much to do with serving their own political interests as with the morality of slavery. As long as there were an equal number of slave-holding states in the South as non slaveholding states in the North, the two regions had even representation in the Senate and neither would dictate to the other. However, each new territory that applied for statehood threatened to upset this balance of power. Southerners consistently argued for states rights and a weak federal government, but it was not until the 1850s that the issue of secession was raised. Southerners argued that having the Constitution ratified and having agreed to join the new nation in the late 1780s, that they would retain the power to cancel the agreement. There were controversial attempts at a solution that included legal compromises and debates such as the Compromise of 1850, the Kansas-Nebraska Act in 1854, and the Lincoln-Douglas Debates in 1858. However, Southerners felt that the laws favored the Northern economy and were designed to impede the South. Although, the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 which was in favor of

the states that were in the northern section had mostly depended on trading posts and merchants. By being dependent on those two things there had been no need for the use of slaves, and they had also been armed with machinery's and jobs in the factories. They also had the skill that had been needed and had done lots of labor. Since they had been well equipped on everything making money was very easy and the north had planned to bring these types of jobs to the North. Unfortunately the south had always mostly relied on agriculture, and for having lots of work like this meant they needed lots of man power to keep it going. The north hadn't relied on slaves like the south had and the southern hadn't paid the slaves as well. Once the north became

There had been tension between the North and South but nobody realized as the tension and slavery grew that it would lead to roughly 620,00 lives lost. The lives that were lost was from the Civil War and caused by the overall idea of Popular Sovereignty. The tension had risen from the ideas of Slavery, Nullification Act, and last of all the Kansas-Nebraska act.

Although many presume that the growing opposition to slavery was the lone cause of the South’s succession that led to the Civil War, economic and political tensions were also key factors in provoking their immense decision to leave the Union.

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 true cause of the civil war, and division between the states to begin with, was the fact that the central government of the united states attempted to overextend its power upon the states, and upon a people who did not wish to be controlled. Contrary to the tenth amendment we see that the government tried to control things by force that where outside of its designated powers. This lead to the true separation by the southern states to form the Confederacy. Slavery was then used as a propagandic tool by the Union to seize more power. Meanwhile, the Confederacy technically did nothing illegal since the second amendment was in place to prevent the government from turning on its own people and seizing power from the people. Along with this, the tenth amendment states that any powers not given to the government were left to the states, or the people. (The Constitution of the United States,1787) These all go to show that technically it was not slavery itself, but the combination of an overreaching government, mixed with the drive to preserve a way of life, that caused the civil

The Civil War, the second major conflict within our newly established country, was highly influenced by the lingering remnants of ideals and conventions from the Revolution. The citizens of the United States once again divided over parallel notions about 86 years later. Yes, slavery was a large catalyst for the Civil War. However, there was another motive at the core of the issue that would incite the masses. Because of the aforementioned rebel mentality that the country was founded on, the South bucked at the North’s attempt of freeing slaves. The North employed gradual emancipation, using such strategies as the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854. Thus, plantation owners and farmers would be forced to surrender their main source of income and

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.