In the second part of the book (47), Freehling explicate the role of the white southerners who were against the Confederation and their role in the Secession Crisis. At that time, Southerners were divided; the Middle South and the Border peoples weren’t so predisposed to Secede. He also explains the event of Fort Sumter in South Carolina (symbolic place of the Independence) which set off the Civil War in April 1861. In the third part of his analyze (83), the author make a point on the role of the Black southerners who opposed the Confederacy and sides White
William Seward was a leading anti-slavery figure who later became secretary of state in the Lincoln administration. He believed that the two systems held by the North and the South (free labour and slavery) were “incompatible”. He stated that eventually America would have to become either fully a free labour nation or a slaveholding nation. While not everyone felt so strongly about this in the North (many didn’t care about the slavery issue at all) it was a reason that soldiers and leaders on either side went to war and fought for (in the North to end it, in the South to defend it). Lincoln was of the opinion that while he would never accept the extension of slavery he would make no direct attempt to interfere with it where it existed.
New policies such as the Free Soil Appeal angered southerners because it limited the southern power in the federal government and sought to bar slavery in the new western territory. Slavery became very important in the south due to the expansion of farming lands plus an increase in the demand for cotton. This required the need for free labor or slave labor in order for the southerners to be able to afford such vast expansions. When considering all of the factors that caused the civil war Lincoln is only responsible for that cause in the event that he was elected President. There were many other causes that steered the country into a civil war including the fight between slave holding and non-slave states, the dispute between state versus federal rights, and economical and social differences between the two divisions none of which were Lincoln’s fault.
Examples included voting rights and citizenship, and the founders passed this to the states to decide. According to Bowles, 2011, American History 1865 to present End of Isolation, though slavery was the underlying reason for the war, another central debate was the rights of states versus the powers of the federal government. While Republicans were strongly in favor of a stronger federal government, Johnson opposed this direction and wanted states to have more power, includ¬ing the southern states. Which basically meant, more blacks in the government ; Johnson disapproved. As Johnson and Congress wres¬tled with these issues, their clash came to somewhat of a head with a disagreement over the Freedman’s Bureau.
Secession for Slavery Brett Kovel Teed Hist 111 10-16-13 Nearly 155 years after the end of the Civil War, new questions of why the Confederate States seceded have arisen amongst the historical and national communities. Was secession from the Union because of slavery or because of a constitutional right? According to General Bradley T. Johnson,” every lover of constitutional liberty, liberty controlled by law, all over the world begins to understand that the war was not a war waged by the South in defense of slavery, but was a war to protect liberty won and bequeathed by free ancestors.” Now, General Bradley said this in 1896, nearly 31 years after the conclusion of the Civil War. It could be that he, like
If the existence of slavery in the South was not the major factor that led to the Civil War, the issue that did lead the South to choosing to secede from the union was whether new states would have slavery or not. 5. After the civil War was over and the slaves were freed, the south enacted The Black Codes to keep African
The Civil War began for many reasons. The general southern disgust of the north and their disapproval of the southern lifestyle caused the south to secede from the United States. This secession, in turn, led to he Civil War. One viewpoint is that, “by the 1850’s the Constitution originally framed as an instrument of national unity had become a source of sectional discord and tension and ultimately contributed to the failure of the union it had created.” This view of the Constitution as the cause of the Civil War is an interesting but extremely logical way to look at the situation. But how exactly did this document that formed such a seemingly perfect union also tear it apart?
Eventually leading to the outbreak of the Civil war in 1861. This all began with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1847, providing new land in the south-western territories. However, the main problem was what to do with this new found land. Free Sollers and Northern Whigs heavily opposed the spread of slavery, but the southerners wanted more land for agriculture and increase their political power. Henry Clay’s proposition was accepted in 1850, however, this did not fix all issues.
In the early years of the republic, there were various controversial issues that divided the American people. The ratification of the Constitution split people up into Federalist and Anti-Federalist groups, which were those who wanted the Constitution to be ratified, and those that didn’t. Before the Louisiana Purchase, people were also split on whether or not the purchase was going to be worth it in the long run. When the issue of expansion of slavery into the territories was brought up, Southern-extremest and Northern-soilers could never seem to come to an agreement. Before the Constitution, there were the Articles of Confederation.
“Apostles of Disunion” In Apostles of Disunion, Charles Dew attempted to explain what led to the South’s decision to secede and ultimately cause a civil war. The one reoccurring theme he brings up as the major reason for the South’s secession was their widespread pro slavery attitude held at the time. Dew believed that if slavery had not existed, then the civil war would have never occurred. Throughout his writings he showed this Southern pro slavery attitude and used several examples to support this idea. Two of his best used examples were the the popular propaganda speeches made by slave owners in attempt to gain allegiance against the North and the South’s almost hatred of the Republican Party as a whole.