The Civil War was the bloodiest and most violent war in all of America's history. Not only did it pit brother against brother and father against son, but it also caused more deaths than all of America's wars before or since combined. The cause for the Civil War was not a single event; instead it was a combination of several. In general, the South felt overpowered by the North socially, economically, and culturally. The two sides’ ways of life were completely different in every aspect of the word. At the heart of all the issues lay one major cause for dissension which is known as slavery. Frankly, the combinations of events that led to the civil war drove people over the edge, had varying degrees of influence, and tended to have slavery as …show more content…
He also proposed more stringent Fugitive Slave Laws and the banishment of slave trade from the District of Columbia. Last but not least, in the compromise he included the plan to settle the boundaries of Texas and assume its $10 million debt. The Dred Scott Decision became the next problem that led to the Civil war. Dred Scott was a black slave that lived for 5 years in Illinois with his master. He sued for his freedom based on his prolonged stay on free soil. The Supreme Court heard the case and ruled that since Dred Scott was a black slave and was equated to property. Therefore, he was not a citizen and not allowed to sue. The Court took the ruling further saying that since a slave was property; they could be taken into any territory and be held there under the laws of slavery. The ruling was based on the Fifth Amendment which denied Congress the right to strip people of their property without due process of law. Southerners were pleased with the victory in the case, but abolitionists were horrified at the idea that slavery could legally spread anywhere in the country. The fear of this continued to grow in the North and caused much more friction between the North and South as a result. On top of other issues leading up to the war lay the Kansas-Nebraska Act. When the territory of Nebraska was proposed to enter the Union, more squabbling between the supporters of the North and South ensued. Stephen Douglas proposed that if they split
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
The Kansas-Nebraska Act was created and proposed by Democratic Senator Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois, who greatly supported the railroad system. Douglas was excited to have a railroad system that reached from his home city, Chicago, all the way to California. However, the
The American Civil War was unavoidable. Because of regional and political disputes the country would have continued to boil even if the extremists on both sides were kept under control. No matter what was done politically a conflict was necessary to eradicate slavery from this continent.
The Civil War, the bloodiest war in American History, had many causes that turned brother against brother. The issue of slavery was the largest conflict between the north and the south. The south was upset with many things such as Slavery, government, and legislative issues. All these conflicts eventually led to secession, and the horrific war began.
Dred Scott vs. Sanford – Dred Scott, a slave from Missouri, owned by an army surgeon who had taken Scott into Illinois and Wisconsin where slavery was forbidden. Now, the surgeon’s brother was claiming ownership of Scott. The court was extremely divided but eventually declared that Scott didn’t have a case because he wasn’t a legal citizen.
The civil war was the greatest and deadliest battle in U.S. history, thousands of men died of the battle, diseases, and prison camps. Slavery literally split the nation into two (the north and the south) the civil war was an imminent war that was going to happen anyways. The 16th president Abraham Lincoln was also what caused the civil war because he wanted to end slavery as a whole and the south disagreed with him.
The Civil War is the deadliest war in American History. Between 1861 and 1865, over 600,000 brave souls lost their lives at nearly 10,500 battles. By the end of the war, there were nearly 200,000 African-Americans that fought on the side of the North, with 80 percent recruited from slave states (Half Slave and Half Free, 240). Wars are fought over irreconcilable differences. There may not be one specific cause. Directly or indirectly, slavery was intertwined in many of these differences and the physical conflicts that arose between the North and South. The moral versus practical issue of slavery evoked the passion necessary to unify the people to persevere through the great hardships that were to come.
His underlying desire was to build a railroad through Chicago, making his Chicago property more valuable (Hakim 174). This act established two new territories, Kansas and Nebraska, opening them to popular sovereignty. On the other hand, the long-standing Missouri Compromise, which had held the nation together for the last 34 years and was “sacred” to many, had to be repealed (Hakim
The Compromise of 1850 was drafted in response to the threat of a Southern Convention, because of Zachary Taylors decision to carve out two huge territories in the Far West and to admit them in the union as free states. Henry Clay drafted the compromise, which includes eight parts. "The first pair would admit California as a State and organize the remainder of the Mexican cession without "any restriction or condition on the subject of slavery". The second pair of resolutions settled the boundary dispute between Texas and New Mexico in favor of the latter and compensated Texas by federal assumption of debts contracted during its existence as an Independent Republic. Clay 's third pair of resolutions called for abolition of the slave trade
The Civil War was inevitable in many reasons. The economic and industrial evolution was mainly in the North side of the United States while the South was just a cotton kingdom, Slave Empire. Also both were completely opposites of one another when it was about freeing the slaves or hiring more. With many debates there has to be sides that would be separated especially if the president has so much hate from the people. With that being said, since many want opposing ideas, the Civil War becomes much evitable.
After thoroughly assessing past readings and additional research on the Civil War between the North and South, it was quite apparent that the war was inevitable. Opposed views on this would have probably argued that slavery was the only reason for the Civil War. Therefore suggesting it could have been avoided if a resolution was reached on the issue of slavery. Although there is accuracy in stating slavery led to the war, it wasn’t the only factor. Along with slavery, political issues with territorial expansion, there were also economic and social differences between North and South. These differences, being more than just one or two, gradually led to a war that was bound to happened one way or another.
The United States was a divided country long before the Civil War, while some people would argue that slavery was the only cause of the Civil War, it is much more complicated than that. There are many other factors involved, such as irreconcilable differences in terms of their economic, political, and social beliefs on a national scale. Many people including myself had a primitive and unsophisticated view of what caused the Civil War, post war propaganda and moral righteousness have caused many people to believe that the Civil War was simply a thing of moral impurity on the part of the South, however it is much more complicated than that. Although slavery played a major role in the Civil
One of those compromises was the fugitive slave clause. It required states to return runaway slaves. (Oakes 220) This clause gave constitutional protection to the slaveholder; no matter what state or territory the slave could escape to, he was still a slave and could not be freed, and the emancipation laws of that territory were “null and void”. ( Bestor 14) The early fugitive slave clause was highly ignored and rarely enforced which irritated the Southerners. As part of the Compromise of 1850 a new fugitive slave law would be enacted. ( Dry) This law was created in attempt to settle disputes over the previous constitutional clause, instead it would cause much discord between the North and South. ( Oakes 420) Tense arguments were started in respect to what slaves should be considered, people or property. The south believed they should be treated as property and not given a trial or defense since they lacked the “natural liberties”, however, the abolitionist argued that a free black person could be picked up in the north by a southern plantation owner claiming to be his master and that free black person could be taken from free soil into slave territory without a fair trial or any evidence from the
The American Civil War, which began in 1861 to 1865, has gone down in history as the one of the most significant events to have ever occurred in the United States of America, thus far. At that time, questions had arose wondering how the United States ever got so close to hitting rock bottom, especially being that it was a conflict within the country itself. Hostility steadily grew through the years dividing the nation further and further, and finally leading to the twelfth day in April 1861 in Fort Sumter, North Carolina. The American Civil War was an irrepressible battle and aside from the obvious physical effects of the war, the disagreement over states rights, the act of slavery, and the raising of tariffs played crucial roles in the
In the Civil War the North had many advantages over the South. The South was outnumbered, out supplied, and pushed into a corner using military tactics. Many things changed because of the Civil War. The military tactics used by the North changed how war was fought from then on. Many changes were made politically; some were only temporary, while others were permanent. After the war was over, the country was reunited and the image of the soul and duty of our country redefined.