Apostles Of Disunion: The Cause Of The Civil War

The primary motivation for the start of the Civil War is to this day a very controversial topic in our country. Many are quick to say that the primary motivator was states’ rights; while others argue that the issue of slavery was what ultimately led to the bloodiest four years in our nation’s history. Charles B. Dew and Gary W. Gallagher take on this topic in opposing essays. In Dew’s essay, Apostles of Disunion: Southern Secession Commissioners and the Causes of the Civil War, he uses the speeches and letters of a few (out of fifty-two) secession commissioners as the basis of his argument. In Gallagher’s essay, The Union War, Gallagher takes a similar approach to Dew, instead using the letters of white northern soldiers to assert that the

main motivation of the Civil War was states’ rights. Considering we are still disputing why the Civil War really happened, it is perhaps the most controversial war in America’s history.

Charles B. Dew utilizes various speeches and letters from secession commissioners to argue that slavery caused the Civil War. These commissioners believed that the destruction of the institution of slavery would bring about three specific threats: racial equality, the prospect of the race war, and racial amalgamation. Racial equality was the first threat the commissioners were concerned about. Dew used a quote from a Mississippi commissioner by the name of William L Harris to illustrate this belief: “ Our fathers made this government for the white man, rejecting the negro, as an ignorant, inferior, barbarian race, incapable of self-government, and not, therefore, entitled to be associated with the white man upon the terms of civil, political, or social equality”. The second threat was the potential

“race war” as a result of abolition. The commissioners were worried the abolition of slavery would “excite the slave to cut the throat of his master” as an act of revenge. They argued that instead of insuring domestic tranquility, abolition would endanger lives, “drench the country in blood, and extirpate one or other of the race”. The third and final threat posed by the commissioners was racial amalgamation. Interbreeding between races was described as a “horror” by secession commissioners. Blacks were considered “lustful, half-civilized Africans” of which Southerners were afraid of losing their daughter’s purity to. There seems to be no doubt in Dew’s mind that these southern secession commissioners’ speeches and letters perfectly exemplify and confirm slavery as the primary motivation of the Civil War. Dew concludes his essay by stating that slavery and race were absolutely critical elements in the coming of the Civil War.
Gallagher, on the other hand, opens his essay by labeling the Civil War as “a war for Union that also killed slavery”.

Concerning the role slavery played in the war, Gallagher writes “They believe victory over the slaveholders confirmed the nation, made it stronger in the absence of slavery’s pernicious influence, set the stage for the country’s continuing growth and vitality, and kept a democratic beacon shining in a world dominated aristocrats and monarchs”. Essentially, what Gallagher is saying is that by prohibiting slavery, the Union was united under one power. So while slavery was not the primary motivation for the Civil War, it played a significant role in setting the tone for the Union. Gallagher uses letters from soldiers from New York, Maine, and Ohio to make the point that there was more of a focus on the state of the nation as opposed to whether or not people had a right to own slaves. One of the soldiers by the name of Edward King Whitman wrote “the Union can only be restored by force and arms… such a course is necessary in order to vindicate the honor and establish the power of the Republic”. Gallagher’s main goal with mentioning these letters is to provide perspective into the minds of soldiers by showing the reader that the war did not boil down to pro-slavery vs. pro-abolition parties but rather pro-union vs pro-secession

parties.
Personally, I find much truth in each of these arguments. Each author makes a strong case for his position. I believe that there were people motivated by both of the reasons these authors discussed. However, if I was forced to pick I side, I would lean towards Dew’s argument: that slavery was the primary motivation for the Civil War. Perhaps I may be biased as that is what I learned in high-school. Although, I found it very interesting to learn about the secession commissioners Dew discussed in his essay. I found it fascinating that the men appointed to promote secession spread such blatant ideologies of racism. To me, that speaks volume into what the true reason for the civil war was. The south was afraid of racial equality, a potential race war, and racial amalgamation. I do, however, acknowledge that not every civilian or soldier had the same motivation for supporting either side. I simply believe that the overwhelming majority was concerned with issue of slavery.