The Civil War

The Civil War

The Civil War lasted 5 years, took 600,000 lives and yet there exists doubt in what is the main reason behind it. I myself feel that the major issue that triggered the war was slavery, which for the South threatened economy. I am going to discuss how issues of slavery existed before the war, how it was in the minds of soldiers during the war, and then still existed after the war.

The North favored a loose interpretation of the United States Constitution, they wanted to grant the Federal Government increased powers. The South on the other hand wanted to reserve all undefined powers to the individual states. The North wanted improvements such as more railroads, canals, and roads to be sponsored by the Federal Government, while the South did not want any of these projects to even be taken into consideration.

The North and the South had deep economic, social, and political differences. Even though all these reasons existed for them wanting to succeed from the North, I believe the main reason was slavery. The South not only wanted but they needed slavery, for it was the basis of their economy. The labor force in the South was made up of about four million slaves. These slaves cultivated tobacco, rice, and indigo, they were also in high demand because of the invention of the cotton gin which required growing more cotton than ever before. The North, being Pro Abolition had denounced the immoral institution of slavery.

The North’s opposing views led to attack on the system of the South and showed opposition to slavery’s spreading into new territories. Because it was difficult to decided what the status of states would be the North took action and passed the Missouri Comprimise. This comprimise stated that the status of a state of free or slave would depend if it was above or below 36 degree Latitude. States above the line would be free states and states south of that point would be Slave states. This Compromise created a balance of 11 free states and 11 slave states, it settled conflicts between the North and the South for almost a generation. This all changed when Mexico had been admitted into the Union and people began getting upset. Many compromises were created but they proved to be unsuccessful they resulted in gradual intensification of hostility between the free and slave states. In 1854, another law was passed it was the Kansas an...

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...ion had to add anti-slave laws to their Constitutions. A Freedsman Bureau was created where schools, social services, help with relocation and protection was offered to ex-slaves. The South though wasn’t giving up in fact, the South created a set of harsh local and state laws called “Black Codes” passed to control blacks in the South.

After a while the North began to back off and all their power issues over the South began to die down. The soldiers from the North then return to the North and no one was left to reinforce the laws that were written which concerned the blacks. The South then began to gain political power and things began to go their way again, blacks were discriminated against and their lives became difficult again even though they were free.

It was not difficult to notice the issues of slavery from before the war, during the war, and after the war. Slavery formed two opposing societies, and slavery could never be abolished, the Civil War was inevitable. The Civil War was very painful for America, it brought social and economic hardship but it was necessary to bring “These United States” to “The United States”.

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Killer Angels by Michael Shara