Throughout the mid 1800s, tensions between the North and South were high; they could never seem to agree. They both had different views on how they wanted to be governed and how they wanted to live their life. As the US started expanding across the coast, issues arose with how states should be run. Especially after the Mexican-American War, many issues presented between the north and south. Although they tried to fix these issues, their solutions never lasted for long. Despite the fact that some may argue that governing and expansion were the main reasons for the Civil War, slavery was the main cause of the Civil War. Critics argue that governing was the main reason for the Civil War. The north and south had different views on how they wanted …show more content…
In the 1800s, Americans had the want to expand because of Manifest Destiny. Manifest Destiny is the belief that God wants the U.S. to expand from coast to coast. However, with acquiring this land, many issues presented as well. One issue was Nebraska and Kansas coming into the Union. In Document 5 President James Buchanan describes the Nebraska-Kansas Act in his Inaugural Address. He decided that the two states would be decided upon popular sovereignty. However, popular sovereignty did not work well in Kansas. There were many issues of violence because no one could agree on slavery in the new state. As new states came into the Union, many questions came along with it. To prevent these issues, compromises were made, like the Compromise of 1850. However, they only lasted for so long. In Document 3, Evening Journal, a New York newspaper states how the Compromises need to stop; there will be no more slave or free territories. This article shows the point of view of someone who lived in New York. New York was a northern state who was anti-slavery and did not want anymore slave territories. Although expansion was a reason for the Civil War, it was not the most …show more content…
The North and South had complete opposite views on slavery. The North wanted to abolish it and the South wanted it to expand. In Document 2, Fredercik Douglass states how African Americans are not given the principles of freedom and justice like it states in the Declaration of Independence. He also says how the Fourth of July does not really belong to them. This document shows the point of view of a former slave who escaped to freedom. He then became an abolitionist. Further, Douglass wrote the North Star and worked in the Underground Railroad to help slaves escape to freedom. However, many people of the South did not view slaves as people. In Document 4, George Fitzhugh, a southern writer, talks about how a free laborer is more of a slave than a slave. He states how they work harder and longer for less allowance. However, slaves went through awful physical and mental trauma that laborers did not. Southerners viewed slaves as weak and lazy. In Document 7, there is a picture of Cotton Picking in a Plantain. Slaves were forced to work for hours and hours everyday in these plantations. Because of the high demand of cotton, the South felt that slaves were needed. Slaves also worked six days a week with little time to themselves. The way the South treated the slaves angered the North. Slavery heavily increased the tensions between the North and South. Slavery was the most important cause of the Civil
Much of the disagreement between the north and south was caused by the status of slavery, particularly what would happen in expansion states. The northern states wanted to eliminate slavery from new states, and ideally they wanted no slavery in the country in general. On the other hand, southern states believed that slavery should expand with the country. For example, a man from Georgia argued that new territory should be able to have the choice as to whether or not they will have slavery. But the north, however, “insists that while the territory was partly acquired by Southern men, is partly owned by Southern men, that they shall be excluded from its soil”(Document B).
One key issue between the two parts of the country was whether or not slavery would expand westward to any newly acquired territories. This had been an issue for a long time and ultimately after failing to reach a compromise the country fell back on popular sovereignty or letting people in the new territories decide whether or not they wanted slaver. This however provided no solution as can be seen in the incident “Bleeding Kansas”. This was a series of violent acts in Kansas between those who were for and against slaver.
Throughout all of history, it has been perceived that slavery was at the forefront of the causes of the Civil War. Slavery may be the common perception of why the war was fought, but in reality
The primary cause of the Civil War was the election of 1860, which caused divides within the country. There is a lot of evidence that supports this claim, coming from the textbook and online. President Lincoln was elected in 1860, before and after Lincoln was elected, he directly spoke out of the crime of slavery. He said that slavery was a sin but it was out of his power to ban or pass in the US. Lincoln only managed to get elected because his opponents were split three ways and with all of the North voting for Lincoln, despite him not even being on 10 of the Southern ballots won with 40 percent of the votes.
Sectionalism and Slavery were the two biggest problems between the North and the South that brought on the Civil War. Slavery was a major factor in the cause of the Civil War because it caused disagreements between the
The long time famous question regarding the United States’ history and the Civil War. Some argue that it was the moral standings on slavery alone, or political differences. Others say it was because of economical differences or territorial disputes. The cause of the Civil War was not just one of these reasons, it was all of them together which sparked the bloody American Civil War.
This issue forced people to choose sides and contributed to the division of the nation. The Kansas/Nebraska Act exemplified the tension between the sides. This act promised
They both said thought that the proclamation wouldn’t solve the problem of slavery. Even thought they thought that for different reasons, they both thought that the proclamation wouldn’t help anything. In document 6, it says the Northerners thought that because if slavery still existed in the South, the proclamation did nothing to stop it. The South thought that if people on rebel grounds weren’t considered enslaved people, it would indirectly benefit them by gathering all the people form the North, taking them onto Southern grounds, and enslaving them there. They thought they would have to do this because before when people in the North were still enslaved, the South weren’t allowed to take them since it was considered Northern property.
Numerous factors led to the Civil War. The main issues were slavery and the right of the people. However, the main purpose of the Civil War was slavery. Slavery was causing the tension between the North and the South. Therefore, the most contributing factor to the Civil War was slavery because it was an economic issue to the South and a moral issue to the North.
Each side was unwilling to fully bend to the other. The North’s main focus was to stop slavery from spreading, and some of the more radical Northerners
To kick it off, the North had a specific viewpoint on the Civil War. Northerners believed that the war would be good and would result in the abolition of slavery. In Document 6, the text states, “After this war is over, this whole country will undergo a change for the better... abolishing slavery will dignify labor; that fact of itself will revolutionize everything.”
The Civil War was a terrible tragedy that affected millions of people, but helped toward the abolition of slavery. Compromises over slavery failed, huge disagreements over slavery developed, and the people were in outrage in both the North and South. Slavery was the main reason for sectionalism and the outrage over it. The nation was divided on the subject. Ultimately, sectionalism slavery were the main reasons for the Civil War.
To start, The Civil war was a pivotal moment in American history. The civil war continues to shape our nation to this day. Although the war had many causes, the issue of slavery was the biggest reason for the civil war. The north and the south had different viewpoints on slavery. These different perspectives led to the American civil war.
One of the biggest reasons for the civil war was slavery. In document 3 Hinton Helper talks about how slavery was legal in Southern states and was an essential part of the Southern economy. Slaves were often considered property rather than human beings and were forced into horrible treatment. On the
Originally, as a new nation emerging, the United States was focused on building and stabilizing itself in order to seem powerful to foreign countries. However, as time went on, the North and the South disagreed over various issues and were eventually divided. Many events arose which worsened the split between the North and South after the Antebellum Era, resulting in the South seceding from the Union. The reason why Southern states seceded from the Union in 1860 and 1861 was the controversy over slavery between the North and the South. One main event that contributed to the controversy over slavery and the South’s secession was Abraham Lincoln’s election.