Civil War Dbq

Between 1848 and 1861 there were many issues the northern and southern states of America were disagreeing on. These disagreements eventually led to the Civil War. The common myth of the Civil war is that it was a war fought over the issue of slavery. So if slavery was not the reason for the war, what was? The war was fought to preserve the union, to keep the United States as one. Understanding the reasons for the south's secession and the war requires the examination of the opposing views of the North and the South, the Dred Scott Decision, the Fugitive State Law, and the election of Abraham Lincoln.

The south depended on slavery for economic reasons and the loss of them would be devastating to the cash flow they were receiving from their slave-worked plantations. Northerners said that slavery revoked the human right of being a free person. But the south justified their use of slaves for free labor by arguing that slave-owners provided shelter, food, care, and regulation for a race unable to compete in the modern world without proper training. When new territories became available in the West, the South wanted to expand and use slavery in the newly acquired territories. Nevertheless, the North opposed to this and
Southerners thought he was an abolitionist, although he did favor monetary compensation and a Union. As a result of southern fears over Lincoln, he was not allowed on the ballot in ten southern states, and many states threatened secession if he was elected. He was elected, and the south not only felt their livelihoods were being threatened through the potential loss of their slaves, but also had a sense of disenfranchisement at the polls, because the minority candidate won. Many blame Lincoln for the war but it was a war that was brewing for quite some time. Lincoln's election gave the south an excuse to do what they would have done eventually