Antebellum Essay

HOA Research Paper

The jostling interests that presented themselves between the political parties on the debate over slavery during the Antebellum Period (approximately between 1820-1860), led to “A Nation Divided” and ultimately to the Civil War in the United States.

The Antebellum period in the United States history saw the rise of many different and powerful political interests as well as political parties. Each party differed in their ultimate goals and beliefs. President Jackson was elected into office in 1828, and his party came to be known as the Democratic Party. The Democrats were always known as the party “for the Southerners”. In 1834, another strong political force emerged; they called themselves Whigs. The Whig party consisted of Republicans as well as a significant number of Democrats from the North who disagreed with President Jackson’s actions. At the same time, Slavery was brought back into the publics eye as the king cotton crop began to boost the South’s economy yet again. This called for an increased demand of slaves in the South. Slowly more and more Anti-Slavery Societies began to form in the North pushing the North and South’s interests further and further apart. Right around this time, many escaped slaves and Abolitionists began to speak up and out to the public. People like William Lloyd Garrison began newspapers with the goal of changing public opinion on slavery. Then there were escaped slaves like Sojourner Truth and Frederick Douglas who gave speeches about their experiences. Territorial expansion had been another topic growing popularity in the U.S. right around this time. Slowly people began to move west. In Texas though, there was conflict with Mexico over who owned the land. On March 2nd, 1836...

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...Lincoln had been elected into office in the 1860 election, the South would have no choice but to secede. No one could have doubted Lincoln’s position on slavery, however his strong belief that secession should never take place overshadowed any and all other political issues. Lincoln had made his position on the slavery clear through the many speeches he gave. On November 6th, 1860, the Slave powers worst nightmare came true; Lincoln had been elected into office as the 16th President. The South now knew that immediate action had to be taken; it was the only way to save their way of life.

With all of these opposing forces at play, the United States political interests were bound to come to a clash. In December of 1860, South Carolina became the first official state to secede from the Union; ten states followed in the coming months. And thus the Civil War had begun.