Why Did The United States Plunge Into Civil War?

The presidential election of 1860 set the stage for the American Civil war. By 1860, the nation had been divided mostly up to that point regarding questions of states’ rights and slavery in the territories. Southerners were outraged over the plan by abolitionist, John Brown, to start a slave rebellion at Harper Ferry, Virginia. This event garnered headlines all over the nation in newspapers and magazines. On the other hand, the Northern Republic seemed equally anger by the Supreme Court decision in the case of Dred Scott v. Stanford, which declared free soil unconstitutional. The Northern Democrats, however, struggled to persuade the Americans that their policy of popular sovereignty still made since.

Another event, Bleeding Kansas can mainly be said to have led to the Civil War because it led to the establishment of the Republican Party. Bleeding Kansas was when the U.S. gave Kansas the right for their citizens to vote whether they wanted Kansas to be a free state or a slave state. If Bleeding Kansas never happened, Kansas would have been a free state. What happened is that Missouri’s citizens wanted Kansas to become a slave state. So, they snuck into Kansas and voted slavery for Kansas. Missouri’s citizens then went around Kansas, and killed many people that did not vote slavery. Then In 1857, Dred Scott was a Virginia slave who tried to sue for his freedom in court.  The case rose to the Supreme Court, where it was said if a slave goes up to a free state which is illegal to have slaves, the slave would be free. Then came about The Scott Decision which court rules African Americans were not, nor could ever be, citizens of the United States. Congress cannot prohibit slavery and it was considered the worst Supreme Court decision in history. In 1859, the militant abolitionist John Brown seized the U.S. arsenal at Harper 's Ferry, VA. He commanded anti-slavery forces and planned to end slavery by killing slave owners and freeing their slaves. Twenty-one individuals take part in the raid but John Brown is soon captured and hung. A quote from a newspaper at the time by Alan Farmer, "The Harper 's ferry invasion has advanced the cause of disunion more than any other event

In the 1800s, Northerners and Southerners of America fought in a gruesome war to try to end the argument of slavery once and for all. The newly developed country had fought about it for years in terms of geographical, political, and economical issues. However, by the 1860’s the dispute between the North and South had been narrowed down to a very specific foundation – morality. According to the Merriam- Webster dictionary the definition of morality is “beliefs about what is right behavior and what is wrong behavior.” Both the North and the South felt they were morally correct, which is why the civil war was inevitable because neither side could have been satisfied with a geographical or political arrangement. No person or things could change the way the people felt morally – so compromises and physical arrangements would not have an effect on what they believed was ethical. This is the main reason why the civil war was truly started – despite the events that may have shown it to be from an economical or political standpoint. Although some believed that the Civil War was caused by dispute over geographical, political or economical issues, it was really an issue of the North and South both believing that they were morally correct.

In the 1780s, there was a question of whether slavery would be tolerable in new territories to threaten the Union. Throughout the decades, many compromises were made to avoid disunion. But the Constitution was not clear on this subject which created quite the discussion nationwide when raised in 1857 before the Supreme Court in the form of the Dred Scott case. The Dred Scott decision was an eye-opener to Northerners that believed slavery was acceptable as long as it stayed in the South. If the decision took away any power Congress once had to regulate slavery in new territories, slavery could quickly expand into much of the western United States. Realizing that once slavery expanded into those territories, it could quickly spread into the once-free states. Many Northerners remained silent on the issue, this very possibility was too scary to ignore. Northerners who had not previously been against the South and against slavery began to realize that if they did not stop slavery now, they might never again have the chance. The growing fear in the North helped further contributed to an ongoing dispute between the two sides which eventually lead to the Civil War. A couple years after Chief Justice Taney read Scott v. Sandford decision, half of the Union had seceded and the nation was engaged in civil war. However, because of the passions it created on both sides, Taney 's decision certainly quickly accelerated the start of conflict. Even in 1865, as the long and bloody

In April 1861, the United States of America went to war. They did not go to war with a foreign power, because of a border dispute, and they did not go to war with the native people because of their hunger for more land. No, this would be a war among themselves, north against south, brother against brother, and in some instances even father against son. In the four long and bloody years that this war lasted more than 600,000 of these brothers, fathers, and sons would die in the many battles. Many people point to slavery as the reason the civil war was fought. Although slavery was one of the key issues, the causes for the war run much deeper. Besides slavery, other issues that were causes of the civil war included the differences in moral value, and the different ways the politicians interpret the constitution. First of all, the most obvious cause of the war was slavery. According to the map in document “An” all slaves and cotton were in the southern states. Slavery had already been abolished in the north years before, and every time a territory was to become a state there was a huge struggle between the pro-slavery south and the northern abolitionist. Each time peace was maintained by way of compromise. In his speech in 1858 Abraham Lincoln foretells the upcoming war by s0aying, “In my opinion, it will not end until a crisis shall have been reached and passed. A house divided against itself cannot stand” (Doc M). So, clearly this difference in

John Brown’s beliefs about slavery and activities to destroy it hardly represented the mainstream of northern society in the years leading up to the Civil War. This rather unique man, however, has become central to an understanding and in some cases misunderstandings about the origins of the Civil War. The importance of Brown’s mission against slavery was colossal to accelerating the civil war between the North and the South. His raid on Harpers Ferry in1859 divided the United States like nothing else before, and could have been the main event leading to the Civil War.

The book consists of topics dealing with the subjects of slave power, states’ rights, economic sectionalism, un/ethical aspects of slavery, and the conflict of cultures. Within the topics, documents such as “Lincoln’s Election a Menace to Slavery,” and “The Almighty Has His Own Purposes: Abraham Lincoln,” correlate to the election and the process of its impacting tension to the South. The documents involve previous issues that influence the election and allocate the distinction of two sections of the United States. “Lincoln and Chief Justice Taney: Slavery, Secession, and the President’s War Powers,” focuses on the disagreement of slavery, secession, and Lincoln’s authority in government in the duration of the Civil War era. The advancing disagreements initiated the Dred Scott Court Case in 1857, where Chief Justice proclaimed that the Constitution did not permit black men any privilege or right that white men were entitled to. Referring to Lincoln’s First Inaugural Address, Taney accepted the southern secession as legal and positively diplomatic in both sections of the nation. “Year of Meteors: Stephen Douglas, Abraham Lincoln, and the Election that Brought the Civil,” emphasizes the presidential election of 1860, consisted the rivalry running of the American politicians Stephen Douglas and

The presidential selection of 1860 set the stage for the American Civil war. By 1860, the nation had been at odds mostly up to that point regarding questions of states’ rights and slavery in the territories. Southerners were livid over the preparation by an abolitionist, John Brown, to establish a slave uprising at Harper Ferry, Virginia. This event garnered headlines all over the nation in newspapers and magazines. On the other hand, the Northern Republic seemed equally infuriated by the Supreme Court verdict in the case of Dred Scott v. Stanford, which affirmed free soil unconstitutional. The Northern Democrats, however, struggled to convince the Americans that their guidelines of popular sovereignty still made sense.

The Battle of Fort Sumter marked the primary exchange of gun fire within the Civil War. when seven southern states proceeded with their declarations of secession, the state of South Carolina demanded that Federal (United States) troops stationed at Fort Moultrie (in Charleston Harbor) abandon the fort. On Dec twenty six, 1860, however, Union Major General Richard Anderson repositioned his troops from Fort Moultrie to Fort Sumter, he thought Fort Sumter was easier defended. South Carolina afterwards confiscated all the Federal forts in South Carolina but Fort Sumter. 2 weeks later, U.S. president at the time James Buchanan approved the delivery of reinforcements to Fort Sumter. The ship carrying the reinforcements was shot upon by batteries

In 1860 the South decided to secede from the Union. The reason that the South decided to secede was because they did not share the same views as the North. The South was in favor for slavery, unlike the North who up the Mason-Dixie Line had begun to gradually ban slavery. The South was more reliant on slavery for plantation matters. The North did not care much for the reasons why the South needed slavery, since they relied on cheap labor. The South had to secede because they would not be getting their slave economy if they stayed in the North. Once Abraham Lincoln was elected president in 1860 the South seceding the Union vas creating their own Confederacy. South Carolina decided to secede for the Union first. Then they dispatched delegates

On April 10, 1865, General Ulysses S. Grant surrendered to General Robert E. Lee of Confederate forces and delivered a farewell address to his Union soldiers, “After four years of tiring service, marked by supreme courage and commitment,” said Grant, “the Union Army has been forced to concede to overwhelming numbers and resources.” According to Grant, the Union lost the Civil War, more commonly referred to in its time as the “War of Northern Aggression,” not because it fought badly, but rather, because it lacked the motivation needed to collect the sympathy and support from the general public needed to inspire a victory. Join historian and historical reporter, Amelia Elinor Hicks, as she takes us back in time to analyze the events of the Civil War and to learn what caused the Union to lose it.

Located in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina, Fort Sumter was the place the first shots of the civil war were fired. When President Lincoln announced that he was going to resupply the fort with supplies, the Confederacy were not going to let that happen and decided to stop the Union navy from delivering the supplies. It can be said that President Lincoln provoked the start of the civil war. If the confederate army did not stop the union navy from delivering the supplies, then it could be viewed as the confederate states never left the union, but if the confederate army stopped the Union navy from delivering the supplies it would be viewed as the Confederacy started the war. This is important because if the Confederacy was viewed as the aggressors, then the border states would not secede from the Union and European countries would not fight on the side of the Confederacy. On April 12, 1861, the Confederate navy fired on Fort Sumter. The battle lasted for 34 hours and the Union army was forced to surrender because of the lack of supplies. There were no casualties on either side at the end of the battle.

The attack on Fort Sumter was what many people argue as the point that triggered the Civil War.

On 22 August 1642, King Charles I raised his battle standard and declared a civil war against his enemies in Parliament.

On April 12, 1861, Confederate batteries began to fire on Fort Sumter. Anderson did not return fire for 2 hours. On April 13, Anderson surrendered the fort. No one was killed. Anderson got to perform a gun salute, but was cut short after a explosion that killed one of the gunners and wounded another.