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What Caused The Civil War Analysis

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of servitude expired. Because slaves could not demand any form of payment like indentured servants could, slavery was chosen as the best option.
The events that led up to the Civil War each occurred slowly but continuously. In What Caused the Civil War? Reflections on the South and Southern History, Edward L. Ayers discusses how Americans today depict the Civil War and its causes. He goes on to address questions of how modern Americans view the Civil War. As for the cause of the Civil War, he allows that the short answer is, indeed, slavery. However, he cautions that it required the interaction of many other factors to turn the tension over slavery into a great Civil War. Rather, slavery was “the key catalytic agent in a volatile new mix of …show more content…

President Lincoln determined by the fall of 1862 to move against slavery. By that time, the political risks of inactivity equaled or exceeded those of appearing rash and desperate and freed the President to act on his anti-slavery principles. On September 22, 1862, he warned the Confederates that unless they ended their rebellion he would move against slavery on January 1, 1863, and with the onset of the new year he made good his promise, declaring that “all persons held as slaves” in rebel areas “are, and henceforward shall be, free”; he added that “such persons of suitable condition will be received into the armed service of the United States. This statement implies that President Lincoln used the concept of ending slavery as way to get the attention of the South and to end their rebellion. Therefore, it also implies that the Civil War was not just about slavery, but subduing the Confederacy who had rebelled against the U.S. and started their own agenda. During that time, in each law that addressed slaves and slavery. Congress moved toward freeing slaves and limiting slavery." Congress also indicated a willingness to emancipate various groups of slaves as war policy.'^ Indeed, those laws gave the President the power and

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