Torn Between The Beliefs Of The Southern And Northern States

From 1861 to 1865, the United States of America was fighting itself. The northern part of the United States, known as the Union or simply the North, was trying to end slavery in the southern part of the United States. The South seceded from the Union and formed the Confederate States of America. The North consisted of Maine, New York, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, California, Nevada, and Oregon. The South consisted of Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia. The North wanted slavery to be abolished, but the South needed slaves for their economy; the conflict started war. The North and the South were both prepared for war.

The North pushed for the abolition of slavery due to the immorality of it. Yet, some reports say otherwise. In the article To Forget and Forgive: Reconstructing the Nation in The Post-Civil War Classrooms, Ginsburg states, “Confederate authors explained Northern anti-slavery sentiment in economic terms once Northern businessmen found slavery unprofitable, they abolished it and turned to slavery 'Fanaticism”. These Southern authors believed that the North 's anti-slavery movement was a ploy for economic prosperity. As a result, this tension led to the fallout of the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, when both northern slave territories were either free states or remained slave states by the people. This was an opportunity for the government to leave the legislative branch of slavery with poor sovereignty. The states decided on slavery in hopes that it would have ended slavery controversy and avoid racism.

The North and South both had opposite opinions about slavery, The South favored slavery because of there agricultural based economy which they needed slaves to attend to their harvests and crops, the North was against slavery because they were an industrialized nation they had no need for slavery. This debate went on and almost resulted

delegates from Northern and Southern states had a difference of opinion on how slaves should be

Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1st, 1863. The proclamation declared that all persons held as slaves within the rebellious states from this day on. Before emancipation became a specific union plan, slavery end held in the country remained strong. As late as December 1, 1862, a month before he signed the proclamation, Lincoln had proposed an amendment to U. S constitution that might have allowed slavery to exist in the country until the 1900s. A constitutional amendment approved by Congress in March 1861 that protected slavery where it existed for eternity remained before the state, awaiting

The north and south have been arguing over slavery since 1787 when the constitution was first signed and our government as we know it came to be. Before the westward expansion in new unexplored territory began in the United States, it was understood that the Ohio River and Mason-Dixon line would be the boundary between free and slave states. Westward expansion was a very important thing to the United States during this time. The incorporation of new states in the newer, western territory made slavery a full-frontal concern of national politics. “As the free society of the North and the slave society of the South spread westward, it seemed politically expedient to maintain a rough equality among the new states carved out of western territories,” (Alchin, Linda). Balancing the amount of slave and free states was a significant matter to both the northern and the southern political leaders. When Alabama first joined the Union in 1819, it made the political power between free and slave states completely equal, which made political leaders from both sides happy.

As Americans were moving west to fulfill the Manifest Destiny and conquering new territories, new boundaries for the Union were having to be shaped. With the northern states having officially abolished slavery since 1804, the argument over which territories would be free or not was now coming into play. The North and South have had differing opinions regarding slavery for over sixty years, but with the topic being kept out of most, if not all, political debates the dispute never seemed to come to a head. After the

Slavery continued to cause major conflictions throughout the nation, especially between northern and southern states. Northerners and Southerners had two completely different views and insights on the issue of slavery. For most Northerners, they believed that slavery was wrong and it went against what the nation stood for; liberty and all men being created equally. However, there were some northerners who were antislavery and others (very few) were abolitionist. Although both sides opposed slavery, some individuals’ motives were self beneficial and really did not care so much for slavery while others believed in what America stood for and how it implies to everyone. Southerners on the other hand defended slavery, as it was their way of life.

Northern and Southern states both had different ideas about slavery; the North wanted to ban it whereas the South wanted to keep slavery in all states. This disagreement led to many different disagreements that had to resolved with multiple

Disagreements between the North and South over State’s rights, interpretation of the constitution, and tariffs were more significant as to the cause of the Civil War than the opposing views on slavery. Even today there are still hard feelings between the north and south and democrats and republicans because of how things turned out during the Civil War. There are also still differences of opinion as to the true reason for this war. This being said, it could be easily assumed that slavery was the key issue. But as we all know, the emancipation proclamation was not signed until after the war began, which showed that freeing slaves wasn’t the priority.

The beliefs of the north and the south differed greatly, as they were on opposite sides of the political spectrum. The south emphasized the power of the state and supported slavery because it was economically convenient, believing that the central government had no right to interfere. The north was against slavery and believed it was inhumane and immoral, considering slaves equal to free men and women. The north was progressive. Since the northern and southern states needed balance, two states were admitted at a time, one free state and one slave state. The balance was difficult, so compromise had to be made

The secession of the South right after Abraham Lincoln’s election asserted that the South would not have slavery abolished (Corrick 21). Differences in views on slavery caused several states in the South to threaten to secede (Ushistory). The South supported slavery and held pro-slavery movements in several states, while the North believed that slavery was not constitutional and should be abolished (Civilwar.org; Cavendish). However, the North did not make any laws proclaiming the legality of slavery, but pushed the abolishment of slavery across the United States even further. Due to the secession of the southern states, tensions inevitably increased between the North and the South, thus leading to the start of the Civil War.

The slavery matter caused the sectionalism between the North and the South: “There most certainly was sectional conflict between North and South over slavery-related matters...” America’s image or reputation in the international communities was also a part of the reasons that the northerners supported the abolishment of slavery. They cared about it because the trades with overseas countries were largely carried on in the North. Moreover, by 1865, most of more developed and influential countries at that time already abolished slavery, but slavery still existed in the U.S. Although the abolitionists were a minor group of anti-slavery people in the North, they argued to abolish slavery partially because they, as the northerners, worried about the America’s international image and how this would affect their trades and economy. The northern states could have seceded as they were wealthier, but with an economical reason, they needed the raw materials such as cotton from the south. Therefore, it was better for them to maintain the Union and also the secession is unconstitutional.

Despite of Dred Scott's defeat, many northerners began to against slave and there was a boom of abolitionist in north, while in the South, proud of their victory, slave owners strongly believed that slavery should continue. The separation and opposition of beliefs in the North and the South contributed to one of the many sparks of beginning the Civil

The United States promotes that freedom is a right deserved by all humanity. Throughout the history of America the government has found ways to deprive selected people this right by race, gender, class and in other ways as well for its own benefit. This is a boundary of freedom. Boundaries of freedom outline who is able to enjoy their freedom and who isn’t. These people alter with time and as history unfolds. Slavery and the journey of their freedom was a big part of the foundation of the United States. At the beginning of the Civil War, Lincoln’s goal was to restore the Union and planned on keeping slavery present in the states. African American’s journey to freedom and what freedom means was a long