Slavery and States' Rights: The Real Cause of Civil War

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People often say, “The Civil War was fought over states rights! It was not fought over slavery.” People are often very incorrect. The Civil War was fought the states rights to own slaves. People in the Civil War era were dealing with the sectional conflict that almost every person that lived in the northern parts of the U.S. saw slavery was unjust and very wrong. Everyone that lived in the south thought it would be best if it was left up to the people to decide whether or not slavery should be upheld or outlawed. This idea became known as popular sovereignty. Congress liked this idea very much because it was not on the government’s back anymore. They did not have to worry about slavery topic being a national issue. Many northern abolitionist …show more content…

When he was 21, Lincoln decided to pack up and move to Illinois and work as a store clerk, then volunteered in the Black Hawk War, after that he was a postmaster, then he became a lawyer, and finally served four terms in the Illinois lower house of General Assembly (Digital History). Lincoln was originally a Whig in politics and in 1846, he was elected into the House of Representatives (Digital History). Because of his stance on the Mexican War, it made him too unpopular to win the reelection (Digital History). After reading the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which stated that people in the Kansas and Nebraska territories could decide for themselves if they wanted to allow or outlaw slavery, he would re-enter politics and in 1858, the Republican Party nominated him to run against Stephen Douglas for Senate (Digital History). It was at that moment Lincoln accepted the Republican nomination when he said, “A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this Government cannot endure permanently half-slave and half-free” (Purdue University). Lincoln felt that the Union would not fall, but he did think that would stop being divided. Stephen Douglas was known as Democratic incumbent. Douglas was a short, stocky, little man nicknamed, “Little Giant”. Douglas brought in many people

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