The Civil War And Emancipation

When it comes to Abraham Lincoln people will accept anything as factual, which is why all the myths of Lincoln have actually dominated history for so long. Many believe that the Emancipation Proclamation is solely about honest Abe being a just man and freeing all the slaves with his executive power as sitting president. Lincoln himself stated that it was actually a war tactic strategically planned to cripple the south. If Lincoln’s 1863 article is so dedicated to the freeing of slaves then why were union states like Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri and West Virginia allowed to still participate in keeping their slaves? “And by virtue of the power, and for the purpose aforesaid, I do order and declare that all persons held as slaves within said designated States, and parts of States, are, and henceforward shall be free.” which is an excerpt from the Emancipation Proclamation itself which shows that a lot of people don’t read it well enough to notice that the slaves were an actual afterthought. Maybe it’s because they are so caught up in the notation that Lincoln was about slave’s equality and nothing more.

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.

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.

Dred Scott was an African American born into slavery who attempted to buy freedom for himself, but failed. Scott then sued for freedom and the case was taken to the Missouri courts however, he eventually lost at the Supreme Court level. This case was one of the most controversial topics in history, with several arguments regarding each standpoint. The Dred Scott case was a strong indication of the upcoming Emancipation Proclamation and Civil War. While there are many different controversies concerning the Dred Scott Case, he was an American citizen and should have earned the same rights as others.

The Emancipation Proclamation proclaimed the freedom of slaves. It was issued by Abraham Lincoln in 1863 but was it issued for the right reasons? The 1860’s were a difficult time for the United States of America. The Civil War divided the country into the South and the North. Slavery was a big issue that caused the Civil War.

To be begin with, the civil war brought slavery to an end by Abraham Lincoln. In his speech, “Gettysburg Address”, says, “Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure.” (Lincoln, 2). With this in mind, he (Abraham Lincoln) wants to show that this nation is dedicated and willing to do anything to get it. In other words, Lincoln tells the crowd that the war has meaning behind it and that it’s worth fighting for to end slavery along with other things. Additionally, “it is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us...” (Lincoln, 4). The words “ a great task remaining before us” means the banishment of slavery. Also, the main purpose for the civil war was banning slavery. To summarize, slavery was brought to an end by the civil

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 fear of insurrection had a strong influence on the methods by which the Confederacy attempted to legislate against the possibility of slave insurrection. To begin, the Emancipation Proclamation of 1862 had the effect of forcing the Confederate government into hastily passing a widely unfavorable act. Through the point of view of Confederate Officials, they believed that the Emancipation Proclamation was purposely created to incite slave insurrections (283). The unfavorable act, The Conscription Act, was class biased and favored the upper class slaveholders (284).

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

Civil war is the most consequential and pressing period in the history of America. The war ended and halted centuries of slavery in the country and it also made a great deal of numerous political and social changes. The country was already ripped up and torn up by the negative fad in race relations and a number of cases of slave confusions were taking a toll on the country's political and social structure. While the most common cause of the Civil war is said to be slavery, there were several other factors involved also. Although slavery was the major cause, so to speak, it was definitely not the only cause of the Civil War. Abolition of slavery and Civil War has become comparable terms. Slavery has been turned into a too suitable excuse in connection with the Civil War.

The Civil War was one of the biggest wars and with it being one of the biggest wars it had the most U.S. casualties. Most people thought that the war was fought over the issue of slavery. Then there are others that think that the war was fought about States’ Rights, and I believe that slavery was the reason why the war actually started.

“True compassion does not sit on the laps of renovation; it dives with an approach to reconstruction. Don't throw a coin at a begger. Rather, destroy his source of poverty.” ― Israelmore Ayivor (Chandler, 2007). This quote not only explains what the purpose of the reconstruction was, but also the means on how to succeed. Africans after The Reconstruction not only didn’t have rights, but living became worse than what it was. There became a competition between rich vs. poor, native-born vs. immigrants and workers vs. capitalist. Blacks never had an equal chance to live and work to provide for their families, and this caused social tension all around. The whites never wanted anyone to be superior to them, and they began to take harsh actions against blacks because they saw the potential

Post-Civil War, Northern women became increasingly active in the Black-suffrage movements in the North. They strategized that by enforcing the right of suffrage for African-Americans they would automatically receive the right to vote. Their calculations were based off of the hierarchal rules implied by the Jim Crow South. During the Jim Crow Era, segregationists feared that reconstruction would mess with the inherent order of their society by making Black men equal to White men and beneath them allowing Black women to be equal to White women. Their restoration period stressed that the gender/racial hierarchy be preserved as follows: White men, White women, Black men, and then Black women. The Northern women assumed that there was no way they would give Black men the right to vote without giving White women the right to vote first, since they were higher up on Jim Crow’s hierarchy. However, their initial plan was unfeasible due to mutual disagreement amongst men in regards to women’s suffrage. Even the radical men believed that supporting women’s suffrage was pushing things too far and risked the nullification of the fourteenth amendment. Regardless of, they pushed for its ratification.