In the later half of nineteenth century America, the new nation’s original ability to resolve conflict through means of peaceful compromise had vanished. Various spans of conflict such as Westward Expansion, the Market Revolution, Sectionalism, Mexican American War, the succession of the southern states and ultimately the failure of the Compromise of 1850 that made compromise between the North and the South unattainable. It was the uncompromising differences amongst the free and slave states over the power of the national government that created a divide that would result in divisional violence. From the industrialized North, the agricultural South, Jackson’s Presidency to Lincoln’s and the rise in America 's involvement in politics that followed, slavery was merely one pawn on the board during America’s transforming years that would later reveal itself to have been the vehicle for the Civil War.
New markets brought forth new opportunities for expansion. America was infantile to other developed nations, yet impeccably ambitious and anxious to get competitive. The expansion of markets created hope for some and worry for others. Financial prosperity in the southern states was solely reliant on the blood, sweat and tears of slaves to flourish the Cotton Kingdom, the driving force in transforming and expanding the southern states’ economy. In the industrialized North, workforce labor was readily available for their needs, in contrast to how imperative slavery grew to become
The North’s economy was based on textiles, shipping, and skilled trades. Their climate was not suited for the same type of agricultural products that the South produced like cotton, sugar, rice and tobacco. Northern states like New England manufactured and shipped goods like guns, clocks, plows and axes (page 399). One reason for the South’s dependence on slavery is because their economy relied on the existence of slave labor. For example, the cultivation of cotton depended largely on slave labor, with 75% of the crop grown on plantations,
Before this sanguinary war began, there was a divided America. The inhabitants of these nations couldn’t define America’s founding principles, which were life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The pre-Civil War era was one of the most chaotic periods in human history. The South and the North were the disagreeing nations in America. The free and industrialized North was the center of the abolitionists while the agrarian South was the center of
During the 19th century the South and the North began to debate within each other as slavery was starting to become a national issue. The South was unified following the institution of slavery as it was vital to their economic success and the North was anti-slavery. The Civil War was inevitable becoming the climax to a growing tension between both the South and North in the act of failed Compromises and differences. The Missouri Compromise, The Act of 1850, and The Kansas-Nebraska Act hold large responsibility as causes for the Civil War considering none completely stopped the war and were merely postponed it.
As time passed the rapidly changing society in the nineteenth century, in 1820 the north and south began to have serious conflicting problems that were proved unfixable by compromise. During this time, the north underwent major social, economic, and industrial changes known as the Antebellum Period. While the south generally clung to king cotton and slavery and thus remained essentially the same. This arose a manifold of controversies with how issues such as tariffs, slavery, and land should be handled. Both the Union and the Confederacy tried to create compromises to resolve these problems, yet both sides were never completely satisfied no matter how hard they tried. This made it very close to impossible for them to completely put their
Prior to Civil War, distinct Northern and Southern cultures had been established; The free North occupied the commercial industry, while the slavery-based South undertook an agricultural occupation. The South and the North began to fight over right and wrong. The major issue was regarding slavery, as the South wanted to preserve slavery while, the North wanted to get rid of it. These conflicts rose into sectional antagonism and eventually put the United States and President Lincoln in a loophole. During the Civil War however, Lincoln made some extremely controversial decisions, that resulted in a reduction of the sectional antagonism present, and the United States became truly “one nation.”
In his second inaugural address in March 1865, Abraham Lincoln looked back at the beginning of the Civil War four years earlier "all knew," he said, that slavery "was somehow the cause of the war." This essay will endeavour to discuss the role of long term divisions caused by the slavery debate in the eventual outbreak of the Civil War. In doing so this analysis will encompass the period between the birth of the nation beginning with the start of the American Revolution in 1763 and the conclusion of the Civil War in 1865. This being a period in which the newly independent nation struggled with its state
The explosion of the American Civil War was caused by a vast number of conflicting principles and prejudices, fueled by sectional differences, and set afire by a very unfortunate set of political events. Undoubtedly, the central theme of almost all of the events that led up to the Civil War was one way or another, related to the dispute of slavery. Throughout the nineteenth century, slavery-related tensions brewed to such an extent, that politicians often took accustom to avoiding the hot topic altogether, because they were too scared of either starting a big political feud, or losing votes from one side of the issue or the other. More specifically, three events that were most instrumental in
During the 19th century, so known “peculiar institution” of slavery dominated labor systems of the American South, also dominated most production in the US and led to a boost of the economy of the New Republic. By the 1850 's, US had become a country segregated into two regional identities, known as the Slave South and the Free North. While the South maintained a pro-slavery identity that supported and protected the expansion of slavery westward, the North largely held abolitionist views and opposed the slavery’s westward expansion. Until the 1850 's the nation uncertainly balanced the slavery subject between the two opponents. However, the acquisition of the Louisiana territories in 1803 by the Jefferson administration doubled the size of the US and the victory in the Mexican-American War extended the territory to the Pacific which quadrupled the area of the US. Ultimately, the territorial expansion led to the spread of slavery. In this essay, I will describe some of the reasons for the expansion of slavery including its influence in national politics, and consequences such as political debates and crises of 1850’s.
The ultimate cause of all sectional conflicts in the mid-1800s was the ideological differences between the North and South that stemmed partially from economic differences as the notably more industrial North began to embrace both “free-soil” and “free-labor” ideology while the South with its stagnated agricultural economy and pro-slavery argument. The North had undergone the Market Revolution in the early 1800s to mid-1800s, yet the South was
To what extent was the Civil War fought over African American freedom ? What were political issues that dominated U.S. politics in the 1850’s ? What factors led to the split of political parties leading up to the war ? What major events heightened sectional conflicts ? What political wartime strategies did both sides use to win the war ? These are some points and questions that will be discussed in this paper. These questions will be answered to find out why the civil war was fought
In the early years of the 19th century, slavery was more than ever turning into a sectional concern, such that the nation had essentially become divided along regional lines. Based on economic or moral reasoning, people of the Northern states were increasingly in support of opposition to slavery, all the while Southerners became united to defend the institution of slavery. Brought on by profound changes including regional differences in the pattern of slavery in the upper and lower South, as well as the movement of abolitionism in the North, slavery in America had transformed from an issue of politics into a moral campaign during the period of 1815-1860, ultimately polarizing the North and the South to the point in which threats of a Southern disunion would mark the beginning of the Civil War in 1861 (Goldfield et. al, The American Journey, p. 281).
In efforts to better understand the Civil War most historians examine the Sectional Crisis and the Compromise of 1850 in the decades leading up to the worst years in American History. Some historians prefer to focus on the underlying theme of the war, others tightly examine individual leaders, events, and political parties, connecting them all together like puzzle pieces to define the years prior to the war. Despite the contrasting views, it is clear to realize the constant prevailing issues of the Antebellum Period, the Sectional Crisis and the Compromise of 1850. In particular, the Compromise of 1850 is deceivingly taught as only establishing 3 pivotal elements: the status of slavery in future territories (popular sovereignty), California statehood, and the fugitive slave law. Granted these elements of the compromise provide a great amount of controversy long after their birth, but one element of the compromise perceives to fail in obtaining recognition. The Texas-New Mexico boundary resolution seems to find itself fading away from its relevancy to the civil war, shadowed by more prominent issues regarding the stability of the Union. Abandoning the traditional teaching of the compromise, the Texas-New Mexico border decision figuratively and literally changed the identity of Texas. This was the long awaited result caused by deep rooted social and political issues dating back to the Texas Revolution.
By all estimation, the American Civil War was considered to be the bloodiest and most gruesome war in American history. There are more US casualties involved in the American Civil War than US casualties in World War I & II, Korean, and Vietnam War combined. Historians have discussed possible causes that led to the greatest separation among the American people. It is important to recognize the true causes behind this separation so that history does not repeat itself. It is important to recognize the true cause behind this separation so that history of a civil war does not repeat itself. It is best to examine and understand one fundamental cause so that appropriate measures can be taken to prevent another repeat of the past. Current research as well as old documents demonstrate that the conflict over the legality of African American slaves is the main cause to such separation. However, many tend to overlook the economic reason that benefited both the northern and southern states. While it is clear that the Southern states benefited more from slavery due to the vastness of uninhabited land, both southern and northern states benefited in one way or another. Therefore, it makes one wonder: To what extent economic motive between the southern and northern states spurred the American civil war? Although causes like slavery, greed, and fear factor into the causes of the American Civil War, the economic motive between the southern and northern states spurred
America is a country that allows people freedom and equality. In the Declaration of Independence, it states that “all men are created equal” and most people agreed with that. However, there were a few people who thought that slaves were not part of the equality factor. Those people, who were mostly slave owners, saw the African Americans as property and did not see them as equals. Since there was such a big difference in views, it created many tensions between the people. Some people wanted to get rid of slavery and give them freedom and equality, some wanted to get rid of slavery but not make slaves equal to other people, and others wanted to keep slavery as it is. Mostly, there was a disagreement between the South and the North and since there is a difference in other factors such as political and economic, these things began to create tensions and drive them farther apart. During 1783-1859, there were numerous cultural, political, and religious tensions and differences between the United States North and South which led to the unforgettable American Civil War. For this essay, I will be using six sources to support my thesis.
When looking for the causes of the Civil War, one might start with the Mexican American War, which mainly began over the issue of the expansion of slavery. However, America’s sectional differences have been present since the country’s early days. In fact, one might argue that the United States was born to be split over issues on governance, with the seeds of secession sown as early as when the Founding Fathers created a new nation. Despite the many societal differences that each area of the United States has, the Constitution led to the split in the nation mainly by making these ingrained disparities more evident with its vague guidelines of how to handle the issue of states’ rights and the institution of slavery.