Preview

Why the American Civil War Was Necessary

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1742 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Why the American Civil War Was Necessary
History Term PaperThe Civil War, also known as, "The War Between the States" , was necessary, made many positive steps for the great nation to unify again and to incorporate slaves as citizens of that nation. The South refused to compromise about slavery and they decided to create their own establishment, The Confederate States of America. President Abraham Lincoln 's goal coming into the war was to unify all the states and to relieve African-Americans (World Book). I agree with both of those statements and consider them to be valid reasons for war.

First off, if slavery was to be abolished in all of America, the North needed to take action. The words exchanged back and forth between the divided nation were not getting anywhere. The South were very stubborn and continued to rely on slaves to do most of the hard labor. They always seemed to be unsatisfied with laws and acts passed which caused them to split from the Union.

One attempt for an agreement between the regions was the Compromise of 1850. This compromise tried to make everybody happy about the issue of slavery in states. The things that pleased the Northern states were that California was assumed a "free state", slave trade was ended, and that the territories of New Mexico and Utah would have popular sovereignty. The one large plus for the South was that the Fugitive Slave Act was passed.

The Fugitive Slave Act, was a very reprehensible topic. It stated that all slaves must be returned to their owners, and it was one of the main causes of the Civil War. When the Pearl Incident occurred, which was when "76 slaves tried to escape from Washington D.C," people had mixed reactions (Wikipedia). Once again there was an argument dealing on the topic of slaves and slavery between the North and the South.

When Abraham Lincoln was elected, which by the way he did not receive a single electoral vote from a Southern state, he pledged to prevent the expansion of slavery. However, he did not say anything about ending



Bibliography: Abraham Lincoln." Past Presidents. 19 Dec. 2007 . "American Civil War." Wikipedia. 18 Dec. 2007 . "American Civil War." World Book 2005. 2005. Engs, Robert F. "Slavery in Civil War Era." Slavery During the Civil War (2002). 17 Dec. 2007 . Jordan, Robert P. The Civil War. American Society of Civil Engineers, 1969. McPherson, James M. Battle Cry of Freedom: the Civil War Era. Oxford UP US, 1988. "Proposal and Ratification." 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (1997). 20 Dec. 2007 "Records Relating to Freedmen 's Labor." Freedmen 's Bureau Online (1997). 20 Dec. 2007 . "Surrender Terms At Appomattox, 1865." Surrender At Appomattox, 1865 (1997). 19 Dec. 2007 . "The Civil War and Emancipation." Peoples & Events (2002). 18 Dec. 2007 .

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    The propaganda pitch the Union gave was they were fighting to free the slaves. This was not true! It was said Southerners were fighting to preserve slavery. This is also a false statement. Roughly less than 6% of all Southerners owned slaves. In fact, there were a substantial amount of generals in the Union army that owned slaves themselves. In addition the constitution protected slavery. If the true issue was to maintain slavery the South would not have seceded. The most obvious myth is that the "good" North marched into the "cruel and evil" South for the sole purpose of freeing the slaves. There are many quotes from Northern leaders that show clearly that the main purpose of the North was not the eradication of slavery, but subjugation of the southern people. Slavery was used to rally the Northern population behind Abraham Lincoln's war. It was an emotional issue, sure some Yankees joined and fought to "set men free", but most were there to preserve the union. Preserving the Union meant stepping on the Southern people and keeping them as a tax base to feed Northern industrialists. An interesting conflict of Northern morals is discovered. The North…

    • 1392 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Fugitive Slave Laws prohibited the harboring of run away slaves. It was first passed in 1793 but was amended later to reduce tensions, though it had the opposite affect. Some say it nationalized the crisis…

    • 530 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    One side wanted to keep it and the other wanted to destroy it. Chapter three delves on both sides, and their opinions on the already touchy subject. The Confederates felt it was their god-given right to have slaves, the superior controlling the weak. The North wanted to abolish slavery because it went against the Constitution. But letters show that some of the Yanks felt it was the only way to defeat the south, so they could really care less. Abraham Lincoln knew though, that the only way to end the war and bring the United States of America back together again, was to end slavery and free the…

    • 497 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The other main reasons are the control of the government, economy, states' rights, abolitionism, and the election of 1860. Although the focus revolved around slavery a lot of the tension that led to the war was from how the South felt it had no power when it came to making decisions. “As new states were added to the Union, a series of compromises were arrived at to maintain an equal number of “free” and “slave” states” (Hickman 1). However; as new states were added they were all being declared “free” states without the South having any say in the matter. Fearing they were losing power the South turned to the states' rights argument, stating that the federal government didn't have the right to change the laws of slavery in states whom already own slaves (Ayers). Things grew worse during the abolitionist movements which called for an end for slavery, whether it be immediate or gradual. This caused many disputes among the people which often led to biblical disputes (Hickman1). Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin should the cruelty of the Fugitive Slave Act and gave support to the abolitionist movement. The election of 1860 was the final straw. With the election of Abraham Lincoln as president, they feared all was about to change. “The North with its growing population and increased electoral power had achieved what the South had always feared: complete control of the government by the free states”(Hickman 2). After the election the South immediately began to discuss seceding from the Union. The secession of the South was the ultimate leading factor for the North to go to war, in order to keep the country united…

    • 775 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Robert Remini "Andrew Jackson and the Course of American Freedom: 1822-1832" Vol. 2, Harper & Row, 1981…

    • 2244 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    There was another issue which was that the Northern states believed that slavery was against the consitiution and it should be abolished. While the Southern states wanted to keep slaves working their lands and not only wanted to keep the ones they had but get more slaves since their land were expanding. There was a lot of tension between the North and South due…

    • 253 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Dred Scott Decision Essay

    • 560 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The North and the South had very different views on slavery which only grew stronger and separated the two regions leading up to the Civil War. As the Union gained more land the big question was whether the new land would be considered a slave state or a free state. The South needed slaves to do hard labor on their land to keep the economy growing. The North did not have a need for slaves. They feared that allowing slavery in the North would increase large plantations in the area which would threaten their own growing industrial economy. An underlying issue with the South was the fear that the federal government would take control over the individual states and their rights, especially concerning slavery.…

    • 560 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Abe Lincoln Research Paper

    • 1724 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Foner, Eric The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery. New York: New York: W. W. Norton. 2010.…

    • 1724 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    During the 17th and 18th century, a war arose in the United States that had a tremendous impact on America as a whole. The war (Civil War) shaped America into what it is today. It made a change, a good change on the American people. Throughout this essay, I’m going to discuss what caused the civil war. In other words, there were many things that led up to the civil war, including, slavery, the south depending on the north, and the violence that was happening in both the South and the North. Therefore, the civil war was caused by a lot, mainly slavery.…

    • 519 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Rose, Paul Rose. “History of Slavery” Son of the South. Slavery. 19 June 2003. Web. 2008…

    • 536 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    13th Amendment Thesis

    • 981 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The thirteenth Amendment played a major role in American History. President Lincoln issued Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863 stating that all slaves should be free. It took many years and revisions to pass the amendment that would allow all slaves to be free worldwide. The 13th Amendment declared in section 1 “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, nor any place subject to their jurisdiction.” There were many people that did not like the proposal of the thirteenth Amendment especially the South since slavery was really big in that area. “Even though the 13th amendment did not fully stop slavery and inequality…

    • 981 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    They depended greatly on the North for their industries and factories, because they had very few. They also opposed federal spending on internal improvements and they wanted no tariffs. Even despite having a somewhat weak economy, the South wanted to gain their independence to become their own country, and to have their own way of life, which included slavery as legal. When Abraham Lincoln was elected in 1860, the South thought that they would have no voice in the government, considering that Abraham Lincoln was against slavery. In hopes of being their own country, the South had no intention of fighting a war. However, before the war started, the South was unwilling to compromise. They thought that slavery should be allowed in all of the territories. They disagreed to the Missouri Compromise and to parts of the Compromise of 1850. Many felt that these compromises were unfair and biased. The South felt that their way of life and views on slavery were right and just. They turned to what they thought was their only choice: seceding from the Union. This enrage the North, which was one of the main causes of the Civil War.…

    • 623 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The North and the South were very different economically. The South had little industry; it was based off of an agrarian economy (Doc B). Slaves picked cotton off the plantation and the farmers sold these bales to make money (Doc A). The Southerners wouldn't be able to keep their wealth without slaves working for free. If slavery was abolished, then the farmers would have to pay their slaves to do this back-breaking work, which will cause the farmers to go broke. This is why slavery was so vital in the South. Now, the North didn't care much about slavery because it didn't affect them greatly. The economy of the North was based off of industry, unlike the South. Both the Northerners and the Southerners relied on each other economically. The North depended on the South for cotton and tobacco (Doc D), and the South depended on the North for industrial materials, such as utility, the making of railroads and canals, etc. (Doc C).…

    • 676 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    U.s. Slavery Reparations

    • 958 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Hutchinson, Earl. Ten Reason For U.S. Slavery Reparations. Monito.net. Albion Monitor, April 9, 2001. Web. 19 April. 2013.…

    • 958 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Albert Dietrich once wrote, “There are perhaps many causes worth dying for, but to me, certainly, there are none worth killing for” (36). When many think of what caused the Civil War, the first thing that pops into their head is slavery. This is what they teach us in elementary school. Every kid is taught about the North, the South, slavery, and Abraham Lincoln, but there was so much more to the Civil War than what was taught back then. First, slavery was not the only cause of the Civil War. There were many other issues besides slavery that had equal if not more influence on the start of the war. Two of these additional causes of the war, which began tensions between these two sides long before slavery, were politics and the economy.…

    • 1377 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays