Civil War: Differences In The United States

The coming of the American Civil War was a complex conflict that cannot be easily explained, yet can simply be summed up in the word “differences”. During this time period major differences can be seen in the ways blacks were viewed versus the position of whites in society. This sets up the institution of slavery, ultimately leading to the Civil War. Additionally, significant differences are seen between the North and South who had opposing lifestyles and views of slavery. Vastly conflicting beliefs are also seen in the fanatics of the time period who participated in radical actions that greatly divided the sides. These differences among Northerners and Southerners also carried over to the political system which failed to resolve conflicts
One cause of the Civil War was the failure of the government to reach a compromise and avoid conflict, due to political instability and changes caused by varying beliefs. One example of this was the split of the Democratic Party in 1860. This split occurred because Northern Democrats supported the use of popular sovereignty to determine the status of slavery while their Southern counterparts wanted unimpeded expansion. Around the same time, other parties with differing beliefs formed, including Republicans who supported abolition and the Constitutional Union Party who sought to protect the union. These four parties created a major problem because they divided the country into sections with no strong majority in the election of 1860 when Lincoln became president with only 39% of the vote. This weakened the presidency because when a leader doesn’t receive a majority of votes he is not backed by most of the country. Other examples of political differences were the cases that were determined by the Supreme Court, one being the Dred Scott case. Prior to the Civil War the Supreme Court was controlled by Southerners who determined cases in favor of maintaining a system of slavery in the United States. In Dred Scott, the court “declared that Congress had no constitutional authority to exclude slavery from any territory, thereby nullifying the Missouri Compromise” (Hewitt and Lawson 378). As a result of this decision the Compromise that had kept relative peace for over thirty years had been repealed and the status of slavery greatly favored Southerners, and as a result angered Northern abolitionists. Instead of the federal government uniting the country in this time of turmoil, differing beliefs ultimately divided politicians and drove the country further apart, leading to the