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US presidential election 1860
Rise of the political party of America
Rise of the political party of America
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The fabric of history shows the design and spirals the elections of 1860, the rise of the Republican Party, and the bills pushed through congress and the presidency left on our nation. This paper will examine show the indelible marks of the 1860 election and its importance as a prelude to the Civil War. With this examination revealing how the Republican Party was able to rise to power so quickly, and how that rise came to affect the entire nation not only at that moment in time but also forward into the future of the United States of America. To help us look at this specific instance in history we must look at the several aspects including the Republican’s rise to power and the effect of the bills they pushed through Congress. There were several bills during this time period that were opposed by the South. The passage of these bills would most likely not have been possible if the Southern Democrats had still held power in the legislation. Numerous bills could be examined, but to save time we will examine two that in my opinion are most important. They are the Homestead Act and the Morrill Tariff. Examining both the rise of the Republican Party and these two bills it will become clear as to why the election of 1860 was one of the most important and influential elections in American history.
The Election of 1860 was important to America for a number of reasons. First, this election was the last election before the American Civil War. Due to the resulting outcome, the election was seen as one of the main reasons leading to session and ultimately to war. Additionally the election highlighted the emergence of the Republican Party to the national stage. The same Republican party which would ultimately prove to be influential and ...
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... nation wash changed by decisions made before and after the election and how it shaped the political landscape prior to the Civil War. The Republican Party was able to rise to power quickly shape legislation and change the policies to meet their agenda. The Homestead Act promoted vast population of remote locations of the United States. The Republicans were able to pass this bill because they had a favorable view from inner city residents and more highly populated areas. This popularity also paved the way for the Republican plans to implement the Morrill Tariff Act and their cemented the party’s impact on the north and voting public. The lasting and verifiable changes to the nation due to the confluence of the 1860 election, the rise of the Republican Party and the passage of the Homestead Act and The Morrill Tariff Act prove the importance of this period in time.
Both sides desired a republican form of government. Each wanted a political system that would “protect the equality and liberty of the individuals from aristocratic privilege and…tyrannical power.” (404) However, the north and south differed greatly in “their perceptions of what most threatened its survival.” (404) The secession by the south was an attempt to reestablish republicanism, as they no longer found a voice in the national stage. Prior to the 1850s, this conflict had been channeled through the national political system. The collapse of the two-party system gave way to “political reorganization and realignment,” wrote Holt. The voters of the Democrats shifted their influence toward state and local elections, where they felt their concerns would be addressed. This was not exclusively an economically determined factor. It displayed the exercise of agency by individual states. Holt pointed out, “[T]he emergence of a new two-party framework in the South varied from state to state according to the conditions in them.” (406) The “Deep South” was repulsed by the “old political process,” most Southerners trusted their state to be the safeguards of republicanism. (404) They saw the presidential election of Abraham Lincoln, a member of the “the anti-Southern Republican party,” as something the old system could not
Throughout the 1830-1840’s the opposing governmental parties, the Jacksonian Democrats and the Whigs, undertook many issues. The Whigs were a party born out of their hatred for President Andrew Jackson, and dubbed his harsh military ways as “executive usurpation,” and generally detested everything he did while he was in office. This party was one that attracted many other groups alienated by President Jackson, and was mainly popular among urban industrial aristocrats in the North. On the other hand, the Jacksonian Democrats were a party born out of President Andrew Jackson’s anti-federalistic ideals that was extremely popular among southern agrarians. A major economic issue that the two parties disagreed on was whether or not the United States should have a National Bank. Along with the National Bank, the two parties also disagreed on the issue of the Protective tariff that was enforced to grow Northern industry. Politically, the two parties disagreed on the issues of Manifest Destiny, or expansion, and ultimately Slavery. While the two parties essentially disagreed on most issues, there are also similarities within these issues that the two parties somewhat agree on.
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.
Since the beginning of their new nation, the United States had many differences between the Northern and Southern states. During the Constitutional Convention they disagreed on how to determine their representation in the house based on population; the Southerners wanted to count their slaves and the Northerners did not, which lead to the three-fifths compromise. Later in the Convention there were concessions given to the South, which left the Northerners feeling uneasy, such as: a guarantee that the slave trade would not be interfered with by Congress until 1808 and slave owners were given the right to recover refugee slaves from anywhere in the United States. While many Northern delegates were disappointed with the rights given to the South, they felt it was necessary for the good of the Nation. This was necessary to form a strong central government and union between the states.
In 1860 Abraham Lincoln was elected as president of the United States of America, the repercussions of which led to civil war. However it was not only Lincoln’s election that led to civil war but also the slavery debate between the northern and southern states and the state of the economy in the United States. Together with the election of Lincoln these caused a split, both politically and ideologically, between the North and South states which manifested into what is now refereed to as the American Civil War.
The turmoil between the North and South about slavery brought many issues to light. People from their respective regions would argue whether it was a moral institution and that no matter what, a decision on the topic had to be made that would bring the country to an agreement once and for all. This paper discusses the irrepressible conflict William H. Seward mentions, several politician’s different views on why they could or could not co-exist, and also discusses the possible war as a result.
From these documents, would you say that Lincoln was prepared to fight the Civil War when the southern states seceded to create the Confederacy, or did he seem hesitant and indecisive?
The years after the civil war left one half of America, the north, satisfied and the other half, the south, mostly dissatisfied. Therefore the last third of the nineteenth century, 1865-1900, was a time period in which America was mending, repairing, improving, reshaping, and reconstructing its society, economy, culture, and policies. Basically it was changing everything it stood for. This continual change can be seen in the following events that took place during this time. These events are both causes and effects of why America is what it is today. These are some examples: the reconstruction of the south, the great movement towards the west, the agricultural revolution, the rise of industrialism, the completion of the transcontinental railroad, and America's growth to gaining world power. All of these are reasons and events that characterize America as being an ever-changing nation.
The majority of speculations regarding the causes of the American Civil War are in some relation to slavery. While slavery was a factor in the disagreements that led to the Civil War, it was not the solitary or primary cause. There were three other, larger causes that contributed more directly to the beginning of the secession of the southern states and, eventually, the start of the war. Those three causes included economic and social divergence amongst the North and South, state versus national rights, and the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Dred Scott case. Each of these causes involved slavery in some way, but were not exclusively based upon slavery.
The 1860 presidential election was one of the nation’s most memorable. The north and the south sections of the country had a completely different vision of how they envisioned their home land. What made this worse was that their views were completely opposite of each other. The north, mostly republican supporters, want America to be free; free of slaves and free from bondages. While on the other hand, the southern supporters, mostly democratic states, wanted slavery in the country, because this is what they earned their daily living and profit from.
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.
Roark, J.L., Johnson, M.P., Cohen, P.C., Stage, S., Lawson, A., Hartmann, S.M. (2009). The american promise: A history of the united states (4th ed.), The New West and Free North 1840-1860, The slave south, 1820-1860, The house divided 1846-1861 (Vol. 1, pp. 279-354).
There have been many changes by the late 1800s that have helped America change politically. For example by making the 13th amendment, the 14th amendment, and the 15th amendment. The 13th amendment was made to help end slavery in the United States. The 13th amendment gave Blacks more rights, it helped end slavery, and it highlighted that Blacks were humans. This helped give Blacks equal rights and they were treated equally and not treated as property. The 14th amendment states that everyone born in the United States was born with rights. The rights that everyone was born with was that they weren’t allowed to be deprived of anyone's peron of life, liberty, or property. This was important because this gave everyone equal rights and the only thing that you needed was to be born in America. The 15th amendment gave citizens the right to vote. This
Between 1870 and 1900 (The Gilded Age), the economy had a major boom. The United States went from “Lincoln’s America- a world centered on the small farm and artisan workshop- to a mature industrial society.” By 1913, America produced about one- third of the world’s industrial productivity. With the new upgrades, like the railroad and the industrial companies the economy was flourishing with the growing supply of labor, immigrants. The new industrial economy came with a price. The politics was ill equipped to handle the problems that came with the rapid growth of the economy. The Democrats were not for high tariff but the party remained closely linked to New York bankers and having nothing to do with the debt-ridden agricultural areas. While on the other hand, the Republicans favored the eastern industrialist and bankers also putting the farmer in the Southwest at a disadvantage.
The Radical Republicans were a political in the north devoted to a vigorous prosecution of the Civil War. Slavery led in the antebellum years to independent anti slavery organizations in the Liberty Party, Free Soil Party, and the Republican Party. The “radicals” emerged as the conscience of the party, attempting to keep it true to it’s original idealism. Democrats, and even some conservative republicans, found what they perceived as