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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…
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I think what drove the secession is clear racism, and the critical belief of the commissioners had on slavery. They said Lincoln's election was "nothing less than an open declaration of war." Dew believed that if slavery did not exist, we would have never had the civil war. We can look at bigger picture, which is, this war was a great loss for everyone, both Confederate and Union.…
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Lincoln entered the Presidency rooted in the beliefs that the executive branch’s power came second to the legislative, as stated in the Constitution. His “immediate predecessors—Democrats Franklin Pierce and James Buchanan—had set the pattern for a weak executive, conceiving their roles as little more than clerks...who either approved or disapproved legislation developed from Congress’s agenda,” (Brinkley and Dyer, 2004, 175). However, following the secession of seven southern states immediately after Lincoln’s election, his focus became reuniting the union: “he sought to reassure his fellow countrymen and to prevent more states from seceding,” (Brinkley and Dyer, 2004, 175). To accomplish this, Lincoln was headfast in his decisions, often reaching beyond traditional executive power and, in effect, overriding the other branches of government. These decisions were extremely controversial: Groiler Encyclopedia says, “As a commander in chief Lincoln was soon noted for vigorous…
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1.) American society wasn’t that democratic during the colonial days. Although it was much more democratic than England, it still wasn’t quite there yet. The constitution wasn’t signed and agreed upon until 1787, and before the turn of the 18th century, the colonies were a big mess. Most cities had an oligarchy, meaning a religious leader was in charge, making everyone abide by their rules, although it was often less religious and more on the tyrannical side. There wasn’t much separation of church and state. The only people who could vote were members of the church in most colonies, although some colonies allowed white men who owned property to have the right of franchise. People were hung, flogged, and exiled. Indentured servants had it bad,…
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One of the main unresolved issues of the Constitution was succession. The writers of this document did not consider that any state would ever wish to leave the union, and so did not address whether or not a state could secede. As a result of the Constitution's failure to address this issue, when the southern states wanted to leave the union, it was considered unconstitutional to use force to stop this uprising. James Buchanan was in support of the states' rights to leave the union if they did not feel they were properly represented. He stated in Document G, "The Southern States, standing of the basis of the Constitution, have a right to demand this act of justice from the States of the North." He also comments on the power of Congress to use force in keeping a state from succeeding, saying "... no such power has been delegated to Congress." Abraham Lincoln thought the opposite, and did not support the southern states' movement toward succession. He believes that because no state has ever been a state outside of the union, it does not have the right to…
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authority did nothing to help the discrimination faced by his race. The portrait depicts a white…
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Despite having the same settlement’s origin, the two areas on the east coast of North America, New England and Chesapeake, had developed into two distinct societies by 1700, whether regarding economy, religion, government, etc. There are various reasons accounting for this difference, some most important of which will be clarified in my essay.…
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The election of Abraham Lincoln terrified the southern states. Southerners new that Lincoln favored abolition and he desired to rule against slavery in the western territories. There was a fear that Lincoln would eventually outlaw slavery for good. Therefore, the southern way of life would forever be changed. The southern states came together and decided the best solution would be to secede from the union.…
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The Northerners opposed slavery, whereas the agriculture dependent Southerners supported it. It was on this issue that the most acerbic debates took place. For the unity and efficiency of the whole country, both sides gave in and made the most famous of the compromises, the Three-Fifth Clause, which won unanimous approval. Not wanting to loose the valuable revenues from the South, the Northerners compromised again in the Constitution by prohibiting Congress from outlawing the slave trade for at least twenty years in order to appeal to the masses. Was this necessarily the right and just decision? No. But it undeniably guaranteed the South as a part of the…
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1. Congress did not agree with Lincoln’s plan for reconstruction because they thought it was inadequate; Congress thought it was too weak and that it would allow the old southern ruling class to reclaim their power. Congress wanted greater assurance of white loyalty and greater guarantees of black rights.…
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Their new federal constitution ensured them of their rights to own slaves. Lincoln rejected the Crittenden Compromise. Lincoln also rejected the right of secession but he denied any intention of interfering with the slavery in those states. The Confederates president ordered batteries to fire on Fort Sumter. Lincoln then ordered 75,000 troops and the war began.…
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Those who disagree with him and his point of view, joined the seceding states. Those who disagreed were the South. The south were devastated that Lincoln was the new president. They thought that the south had no voice in the national government (textbook). They were convinced that Lincoln and the congress are agreed on the topic of slavery ( textbook). Therefore, southern states came into conclusion that they didn't want to stay with a Republican president that is an abolitionist. However, Lincoln never stated that he didn't support slavery. People assumed that because of what he says in his speeches. Soon enough, southern states started seceding. South Carolina was the first to secede from the Union ( Packet Document 5). Later on, 7 other states such as Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas has seceded (Packet Document 5). Although, the national government state that all states are independent ( Packet Document 5). So all those states have the full right to secede and no one can tell them…
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First, Lincoln prevented free voting to allow for the states to decide their own fate. One could easily argue that Lincoln began an entire war, not over slavery, but over state's rights. Lincoln staunchly felt a strong, centralized government was necessary and he clearly wasn't…
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However the election of Abraham Lincoln was not the only reason for secession, but a rather a series of rooted problems. Sectional tensions between northern and southern states arose as early as the 1840s when America first began its westward expansion into new territories. Every new territory added raised the question of its position on slavery, as the balance between free and slave states was fragile. In an attempt to gain supporters and appeal to both citizens from the north and south, Douglas introduced the idea of popular sovereignty i n which the citizens of the territory would choose whether it entered the Union pro-slavery or anti-slavery. While this may have seemed like a good idea at the time, it did not prove to be so good in Kansas.…
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During the 1860s election,the topic of slavery brought many political tensions to the Republicans and Democrats.The Republicans was an anti-slavery party.The Republicans disagree of the spreading of slavery and would take this issue to Congress,whenever they can,to stop its expansion.They viewed slavery as an a problem that would last forever,and thought the problem would soon lead to extinction (http://www.tulane.edu/~latner/Background/BackgroundElection.html). As for the Democrats,they were pro-slavery party.They viewed slavery was good not only for the slave holder,but also for the slave(John C. Calhoun).In the 1850s Abraham Lincoln said that slavery was “an unqualified evil to the negro, the white man, and the State,” but later on in his first Inaugural Address he said that he had “no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with slavery in the States where it exists.”Abraham Lincoln personally didn't like slavery but as a Republican he wished to abolish it.But as the President of America,he made a promise to the Constitution,which protected slavery (http://www.history.com/topics/emancipation-proclamation). Therefore the tension that rose from slavery resulted in constant fighting of the Republicans and Democrats.…
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