The continuously irreconcilable conflicts, especially on slavery, between the South and the North during mid 19th century eventually led to the secession of the State of South Carolina and six other states after the election of Abraham Lincoln. When they felt their interests to be threatened, the white southerners used the secession as a powerful weapon to against emancipating slavery and to protect their own rights. Actually, the disagreements on the future of slavery were the chief reason causing the increasing gap between the South and the North, and there are three primary reasons why the seven southern states chose to secede from the Union after they realized they could not reach a satisfactory conclusion about slavery issues with the northern states. Firstly, the southerners believed that giving black slaves equal social and legal rights would eventually damage their own rights and and interests. The South argued that they were “fighting for home & liberty” (doc. 86, p. 285) and giving black slaves equal rights would at the same time damage the rights of the lower-class white people (Stephen A. Douglas, Speech in Chicago, July 9, 1858). Douglas insisted that the Constitution gave every states their own rights to decide whether or not to have slavery, and so making all states free states would disfranchise slaveholding states’ rights of self-government (Stephen A. Douglas, Speech in Chicago, July 9, 1858). That is, for southerners, the abolishment of slavery would
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
The controversy over slaves ultimately led to the secession. Abraham Lincoln thinks slavery is wrong and he wants to stop it from spreading. Earlier, he had warned that slavery could separate a nation. In the 1860 election Lincoln is elected, but southerners are worried he will end slavery forever. Southern states start to secede because they are worried. First South Carolina succeeds, then North, Texas, and then Florida too. They give themselves a new name called the Confederate States of America. (Wise...)
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
Why did the Southern states separate from the Union? In the 1850’s Southern States had different views of the Union. In the 1850’s Northern states and Southern states had a lot of differences. Southern states were adamant about having slavery and Northern states thought slavery was appalling and terrible and that it should be abolished.The two states also fought over economic differences because the North made a living based on factories and the South made a living based on slaves. They also fought over government power, the South thought they deserved more power than the Federal Government. Therefore it led to the Civil War. Southern States seceded from the Union because of slavery, economic differences and issues over government power.
Throughout the 19th century, the distinctions between the North and South in the United States were controversial. Prior to the Civil War, the North consisted of business owners and middle-class men. The South consisted of mostly farmers. The North was industrial, using railroads and factories. The South was agricultural, with mostly farms and plantations. The North paid their labor workers. The South used slaves. Not only did their opposing views on slavery and the separation of the two cultures, tensions arose that eventually led to one of the most gruesome wars in history.
Before the Civil War, the North and South's attempt to resolve matters at any time was through compromise. One significant issue that could not have a solution found over time was slavery. Northerners supported the abolition of slavery. However, the South depended on slavery. As this conflict intensified, the South figured that compromise would no longer function. The South's breaking point was Lincoln's election. The South withdrew from the Union; the Civil War had begun. The South seceded from the Union because of opposition towards slavery, the fear that abolition of slavery was a threat to their way of life, and that Lincoln would get rid of it.
How did the sectional crisis begin? What one event triggered this crisis? While these are question commonly answered, it is up to interpretation of the conflicts between the North and South in order to decide which events caused the secession. There is not simply one event or conflict which resulted in the secession of the deep southern sates beginning in 1860 (Brands 2015, 333). As of February 1, 1860 seven southern states had seceded from the union due to the friction between Northern and Southerners. While some may argue that the sectional crisis is a result of the fight for power between the North and South; the sectional crisis can be attributed to three main factors and their effects on the nation, differences
The Civil War was the war that divided the young American nation into two opposing sides. One side being the North, also called the Union, and the second side being the South, also called the Confederacy. The root cause of why the South seceded from the Union has been debated and argued since the beginning of the war in 1861. Most people argue that the argument, between the North and the South, over slavery was the main reason why the South left the Union. However, the issue has to be more complex than just the issue with slavery. The root cause of the of the South secession from the Union was a combination of the South’s aggravation and fear over their dependence on the North for their economic prosperity and their dependence on slavery for a highly profitable economy.
The southerners defended slavery, being heavily invested. While the northerners did terrible things, using young children and women in unhealthy working conditions. The North saw slavery as a running society, while the south wanted no contradiction and thought they were doing a good thing for the blacks. The south assumed they could not live without slavery and wanted war to reserve the right to own slaves. In 1820, the Missouri Compromise started, free and slave states were threatened. Steven Douglas gave the right for slave owners the right to capture slaves. In 1860, Abraham Lincoln became president he was against the idea of
One of the key factor contributing to the Civil War was States Rights. This refers to the struggle between federal government and individual states over political power. One side argued for greater state’s rights and those arguing felt that the Federal Government needed to have more control over states. The states felt they should have the right to decide if they were willing to accept certain federal acts. Meaning that states had the right to rule federal acts unconstitutional. The federal government denied states this right. When nullification would not work and states felts that they were no longer respected, they moved towards secession from the Union. The southern people were viewed as democratic and depended slaves for the plantations, they were devoted to agriculture and shipped cotton up north and favored low tariffs.
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
The election of Lincoln in November 1860 was the final trigger for secession.[74] Efforts at compromise, including the "Corwin Amendment" and the "Crittenden Compromise", failed. Southern leaders feared that Lincoln would stop the expansion of slavery and put it on a course toward extinction. The slave states, which had already become a minority in the House of Representatives, were now facing a future as a perpetual minority in the Senate and Electoral College against an increasingly powerful North. Before Lincoln took office in March 1861, seven slave states had declared their secession and joined together to form the Confederacy.
During the time around 1850, tensions were rising on the issue of slavery between the North and the South. New states were being admitted to the United States, but the decisions to make them a free state or a slave state were what really mattered. As an example, California was admitted to the Union as a free state, and this angered the south very much because slavery was a very important factor to the South's economy. The Compromise of 1850 was developed to help soothe the tensions on each side. This Compromise had several provisions: California was admitted to the Union as a free state; the territories of New Mexico and Utah were created without restrictions of slavery; the slave trade was abolished in Washington, D.C.; Congress passed a stricter fugitive slave law. This compromise showed just how important slavery was to each side, and it gives us a good idea of why it could be important as one of their goals during the Civil War. With slavery in mind, it brought about ideas of succession to the South. Because the South was scared of Lincoln abolishing slavery, they thought it would be a wise decision to secede from the Union. In fact, Lincoln had no plans of abolishing slavery, but stated that it should not spread to the territories. The South basically misunderstood and decided to secede anyway. The reason slavery was so important to the South, and lead them to break apart from the Union was that it
Sectional conflict between the North and South was the very platform of the birth of the Civil War. Slavery was a prominent dispute that played a large role in the differences throughout the U.S. at this time, but there were other causes as well including economic and social differences and the election of Abraham Lincoln. In the midst of various events in the 1850s, it was the southern secession that began the true separation of the Union and the Confederacy, which showed the reality and quickness of the arrival of the Civil War in the United States.
Slaves were integral part of southern society and their economy. The pressure crested amid the 1850, for the privilege to have slaves in new areas. From early days, the thirteen states had developed autonomously, and each had their own specific culture and feelings, which were consistently opposite with those held in various states. A few states were undermining to leave the nation since they felt perilous by the way the government is mishandling their powers.