The war of northern aggression
AP U.S. History/1st period
9 January 2014
The War of Northern Aggression Since the end of the American Civil War it has long been thought of as a war of freedom. The victorious Union declared that they were fighting to free the slaves in the South. However, in fact, the Civil War was actually a major breaking point in American History because it was really a power struggle between the old and the new. The new, just as it had done in the previous generations, was replacing the old and was using so called “justice” as its spearhead. This division, based upon several distinct factors, led to conflict and sectionalism within the country and ultimately started a war. The Southern states eventually seceded from the Union because of differences in cultural expansion, political beliefs, and authority. Culturally, the South and the North were almost always at odds. However, it didn’t escalate into a serious matter until the admission of California and a growing interest in the West. This expansion created the question of whether or not slavery was allowed in the West, and although many people thought that the conflict was solved with the Missouri Compromise, they were sadly mistaken (just ask the Native Americans and how compromises worked out with them). The truth of the matter was that the majority of Northerners didn’t really care if the South had slaves or not in the beginning. Odds are that the institution of slavery would had died out anyhow with no need for a war. However, if the nation was expanding and growing into a respectable country around the world, slavery was what many people believed was holding America back. This created tensions between the North and the South which often led to violent encounters such as the raid on Harpers Ferry led by John Brown, as well as violent disputes in the West, particularly in Kansas, over popular sovereignty which eventually led to the nickname “Bleeding Kansas.” With industrialism circulating in the North and new ties
9 January 2014
The War of Northern Aggression Since the end of the American Civil War it has long been thought of as a war of freedom. The victorious Union declared that they were fighting to free the slaves in the South. However, in fact, the Civil War was actually a major breaking point in American History because it was really a power struggle between the old and the new. The new, just as it had done in the previous generations, was replacing the old and was using so called “justice” as its spearhead. This division, based upon several distinct factors, led to conflict and sectionalism within the country and ultimately started a war. The Southern states eventually seceded from the Union because of differences in cultural expansion, political beliefs, and authority. Culturally, the South and the North were almost always at odds. However, it didn’t escalate into a serious matter until the admission of California and a growing interest in the West. This expansion created the question of whether or not slavery was allowed in the West, and although many people thought that the conflict was solved with the Missouri Compromise, they were sadly mistaken (just ask the Native Americans and how compromises worked out with them). The truth of the matter was that the majority of Northerners didn’t really care if the South had slaves or not in the beginning. Odds are that the institution of slavery would had died out anyhow with no need for a war. However, if the nation was expanding and growing into a respectable country around the world, slavery was what many people believed was holding America back. This created tensions between the North and the South which often led to violent encounters such as the raid on Harpers Ferry led by John Brown, as well as violent disputes in the West, particularly in Kansas, over popular sovereignty which eventually led to the nickname “Bleeding Kansas.” With industrialism circulating in the North and new ties