In the 19th century, The United States was experiencing a profound era of reform. Along with the development of the nation, sectionalism began to intensify as well. Thus, the northern and southern states began to acknowledge a divide in America. The differences that manifested between the two groups largely concerned economic and political interests. Both the north and south sought to protect their own stability and promote the welfare of their own systems. Eventually, the growing tension would result in southern secession and a war. The Civil War would be fought for many dynamic reasons, however, three causes include the following: the northern usurpation on the stability of the South’s economy, the north disregarding the Dred-Scott versus …show more content…
Sanford Supreme Court decision, and the lack of clarity over the power between federal and state governments. The divide in the nation grew increasingly large as the South’s economic foundation was usurped by the north.
The north discredited the value of slavery because it degraded the value of labor. Regarding works of literature, many northerners published pieces, “in which the institution of slavery is held up to the world as a blot and a stain upon the escutcheon of America’s honor as a nation.” Although slavery was a major industry that benefited the south, the north, “virtually repealed the Fugitive Slave Law, and declare(d) their determination not to abide by the decision of the Supreme Court guaranteeing (slaveholders) the right to claim property.” By disregarding the value and integral function of slavery in the south, the southern economy lost stability. Yet, the north continues to discount the economic welfare of the south and teach their children, “to look upon the slaveholder as the special disciple of the devil himself.” The intentional defiance toward a major industry in the south led southerners to resent the north for, “a most implacable hostility,” and would ultimately lead to a civil …show more content…
war. Concerning the growth of sectionalism, the schism in America grew deeper when the north “declare(d) their determination not to abide by the decision of the Supreme Court,” in the Dred-Scott versus Sanford case.
The decision claimed, “the right of property in a slave is distinctly and expressly affirmed in the Constitution.” This verdict coincides with southerners’ beliefs of a slave being equated to property, and thus, not being given the rights deemed to an American citizen in the constitution. However, regardless of the federal government intervening in the conflict, the north chose to continue to disregard the fugitive slave law and work toward benefitting their own interests. “The many aggressions which (the north has) made on the rights of the South during the time,” manifested upon ideals of emancipation. By choosing to not uphold the decision of the Dred-Scott versus Sanford Supreme Court case, nor the Fugitive Slave Law, the south felt the north had infringed on their constitutional rights. As it stood, “(the north) ha(d) the exclusive power of controlling the Government, which (left) the (south) without any adequate means of protecting itself against its encroachment and
oppression.” Referring to politics, a lack of clarity over the distribution of power in state and federal governments eventually lead to southern secession. A critical conflict in the nation centered on what the federal government could regulate and what was reserved for state governments. The north’s lack of attempt to uphold federal law explored the concept, “that each State retains its sovereignty, freedom and independence, and every power, jurisdiction, and right which is not … expressly delegated to the United States in Congress assembled.” South Carolina’s initial secession also demonstrated the power of an individual state. Contrarily, many northern individuals acknowledged the federal government “was … (a) national government, set up above and over the States.” Southerners who identified with the prior mentioned interpretation felt as if the federal government was abusing the power designated by the constitution and questioned, “why should we any longer submit to the galling yoke of our tyrant?” With the powers of federal and state governments not clearly defined, northern and southern states acted to protect their own systematic ways of life; this would lead to the creation of the union and confederacy. The Civil War was a war without any sole reason. Although the issue was very dynamic, three causes include the northern usurpation on the south’s stable economy, the north ignoring the Dred-Scott versus Sanford Supreme Court decision, and the lack of clarity concerning the power of federal and state governments. The war was inevitable because the nation was not unified. The strong current of sectionalism created microcosms in the nation, and with each side competing for their own interest, a civil war was inescapable.
The North had a very different opinion of the American way and made it exceedingly clear with the formation of numerous abolition societies, effectively abolishing slavery across the northern region and allowing blacks to live as productive members society, rather than its the property. Even one of the most prominent slave holders of that time was forced to rethink the legitimacy of slavery. “Seeing free black soldiers in action undermined [George] Washington’s racial prejudice and ultimately his support for slavery itself” (Finkelman 18). The productivity, societal and political benefits, and military empowerment made available by freed slaves challenged the South’s sense of racial supremacy, thus they began to establish a defense against the complete abolition of
The economies of the North and South were vastly different leading up to the Civil War. Money was equivalent to power in both regions. For the North, the economy was based on industry as they were more modern and self-aware. They realized that industrialization was progress and it could help rid the country of slave labor as it was wrong. The North’s population had a class system but citizens could move within the system, provided they made the money that would allow them to move up in class. The class system was not as rigid as it was in the South. By comparison, the South wanted to hold on to its economic policy. In doing so, the practice of slavery kept the social order firmly in place. The economic factors, social issues and a growing animosity between the two regions helped to induce the Civil War.
During the time period of 1860 and 1877 many major changes occurred. From the beginning of the civil war to the fall of the reconstruction, the United States changed dramatically. Nearly one hundred years after the Declaration of Independence which declared all men equal, many social and constitutional alterations were necessary to protect the rights of all people, no matter their race. These social and constitutional developments that were made during 1860 to 1877 were so drastic it could be called a revolution.
On April 12, 1861, Abraham Lincoln declared to the South that, the only reason that separate the country is the idea of slavery, if people could solve that problem then there will be no war. Was that the main reason that started the Civil war? or it was just a small goal that hides the real big reason to start the war behind it. Yet, until this day, people are still debating whether slavery is the main reason of the Civil war. However, there are a lot of facts that help to state the fact that slavery was the main reason of the war. These evidences can relate to many things in history, but they all connect to the idea of slavery.
The North and the South had been sectionalized for years on many issues, yet the majority of the congressmen had still come together when necessary for the good of the Nation, up until 1854. After Lincoln won the election in 1860, the nation was divided by sectionalism. Due to the Nation being divided and the Southerners being paranoid about the slaves being freed, I believe both issues were causes that led to the Civil War. Works Cited Brands, H. W.. American Stories: A History of the United States. New York: Routledge, 1998 2nd ed.
Thus even though many Northerners opposed slavery and the expansion of the South's peculiar institution, maybe in some ways they were afraid to be totally against it. it, in fear of the effects on their economy. However many Northerners who did resist slavery probably had a free labour ideology. Northern farmers could grow cotton to fuel the trade industries of the North, as a replacement for slave labour. The events that had occurred before and after 1846 had shown that expansion of America created major sectional conflict and jealousies.
After the American Revolution, slavery began to decrease in the North, just as it was becoming more popular in the South. By the turn of the century, seven of the most Northern states had abolished slavery. During this time, a surge of democratic reform swept the North to the West, and there were demands for political equality, economic and social advances for all Americans. Northerners said that slavery revoked the human right of being a free person and when new territories became available i...
Over the course of the 1860’s the hostility between the North and the South grew into an insipid relationship that only dragged on until the succession of North Carolina in 1860. The main disagreements that led to the Civil War grew over political differences. The issue of Federal versus State rights, stirred the question over how much power the government should possess, similarly the abolition movement clashed with the expansion of slavery in the South and after the elections that would inaugurate President Lincoln without one vote from a single southern state in 1861 the South was fully aware over the balance of power that was not present withi...
Despite the war being over there was still tension, and the nation was as divided as ever. The southern democrats saw a lot of policies as a way to punish the south. The southern states were still economically crushed from the war which embittered them further after their loss.
The American Civil War was the bloodiest military conflict in American history leaving over 500 thousand dead and over 300 thousand wounded (Roark 543-543). One might ask, what caused such internal tension within the most powerful nation in the world? During the nineteenth century, America was an infant nation, but toppling the entire world with its social, political, and economic innovations. In addition, immigrants were migrating from their native land to live the American dream (Roark 405-407). Meanwhile, hundreds of thousand African slaves were being traded in the domestic slave trade throughout the American south. Separated from their family, living in inhumane conditions, and working countless hours for days straight, the issue of slavery was the core of the Civil War (Roark 493-494). The North’s growing dissent for slavery and the South’s dependence on slavery is the reason why the Civil War was an inevitable conflict. Throughout this essay we will discuss the issue of slavery, states’ rights, American expansion into western territories, economic differences and its effect on the inevitable Civil War.
Between the period of 1820-1861 there was a number of political compromises done in order reduce the sectional tension between the North and the South. While each of the compromises created helped the issue that the country was facing at that time, they did not help overall. The compromises were only a temporary fix to the country’s problem of sectionalism. Therefore, while political compromises were effective in reducing the tension between the North and the South, it did not help in preventing the civil war. The North and the South had a vast amount of political differences, one of the major ones was slavery.
By February of 1861 six states had seceded from the Union (Glass, 2008). The Civil War was impacted by Southern and Northern leaders. Two of the leaders in the South were Jefferson Davis and Robert E. Lee and in the North the Union was led by Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant. A few years after Lincoln’s election, the North and South swapped their party labels as the conservatives from the South grew dissatisfied with the Democratic Party's increasingly progressive platforms. Conversely, the historically Republican strongholds in the Northeast began voting Democrat.
Young children for generations have learned that the purpose of the Civil War, or the war between the states, was to free the slaves. The noble goal of freeing the slaves and ending slavery became the focus of instruction and the way most Americans would explain the cause of the Civil War. When the North entered the American Civil War it had many reasons to do so, least of which was to end the practice of slavery in the South, its primary goal was the preservation of the Union . To fully understand the issues leading up to the American Civil War and the motivation for the North engaging in this conflict, it is necessary to learn about: The economy, ideology, and statistics of the United States in the
The social differences between the North and the South were extreme; the North was highly populated, industrial and far more forward thinking (Schultz, 2009). The South, however, remained sparsely populated, agricultural, and desired little, if any, change. The South’s lack of desire for change led the North to believe they were regressive and wanted to halt the progress of the nation. However, the South perceived the North as arrogant, pretentious and wanting to end the Southern way of life. Socially, the North was progressive and industrial, while the South was traditional and
The Southern states worked out a constitution, which included the most ideas with the constitution of the Union, but there was only one problem. In this constitution was also written that slaves are federal property, but the Northern states didn't wanted to approve this bill. The Southerners decided at Fort...