John Gunn HST 367 September 35, 2012 The North and South: Too Far Apart to Avoid War Although the Civil War was not originally fought to save or destroy the institution of slavery, the deep seeded tension between the slave and free states created over this topic of slavery made such a war inevitable. There were many factors that contributed to tensions which started the American Civil War however the most important of those factors was the institution of slavery. The American Civil War was inevitable due to the schisms ingrained within the nation that were created through fundamental differences in ideas and policies mostly concerning slavery and its expansion, People in the North and the South felt very differently about the topic
The North saw the issue of slavery as an evil. They believed that slavery was an impurity that became accustomed to life in America, in which made other systems of commerce forgotten. In a nation where freedom and equality is given, the property owning of people is wrong. In Hinton Helper’s “The Impending Crisis,” Hinton stresses the economic effects of slavery to the U.S. He goes on suggesting that the U.S cannot depend on only slavery and the staple crops to pull the nation forward.
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. One key example that Dew provided was the use of scare tactics by the pro-slave Southerners. In an effort to build an alliance through the South, Southern leaders would use emotion to gain support of the common people. They would give examples of what would happen to them and their families if blacks would be free. These examples would explain how the lives of Southerners would be ruined and that the country would come to an end if slaves were freed.
Lesson 2 Journal Entry Objective 1 1. I would guess the main causes of the Civil War would be the issue of slavery and the opposing views of each section of the United States. Since Northerners were beginning to oppose slavery, the South saw that as a threat to their economy. While the North embraced change, the South wanted to continue the static lifestyle. These causes ultimately led to the Civil War, which was a turning point in American history because of its radical results.
The democrats renominated Martin Van Buren, while the Whigs chose William Henry and John tyler, Tyler was an anti-Jacksonian group of the whigs, for all purposes he was a democrat. The Whigs took the appeal to the common man, which was pionerreed by the democrats. Harison won becaue Van Buren’s unpopularity caused by the depression, and the independent treasury bill, secondly because of the Whig’s compaign tactics. They were mocked by the democrats for supporting Henry who the democrats saw as an old women, the Whigs then appealed to him as a common man in a long cabin, and used his frontier past and victory against the Indians. This lection was notable for its increase in the number of voters, over a 60% increase in the number of voters.
The blacks has contributed a lot of work to gain their own freedom. For example, the slaves would run from their masters to become contrabands which was enemy property for the union. Also, they would labor behind the scenes for the nothern armies and rick their lives by going on the battle front. Northerners began enlisting blacks to assist them in the fight. Lincoln's second confiscation act and the militia act both of 1862,
He became an avid organizer in the Republican Party and declared his opposition to the expansion of slavery. In 1858 he ran for US Senator, against Stephen S Douglas. They set up a series of 7 public debates in order to gain popular support, and were more commonly known as the Lincoln-Douglas debates. Their main issues was slavery, and although Lincoln won in the long run, he didn’t gain enough popularity to become US Senator. Although he thought he was not qualified, in 1860 the Republican Party bitch nominated Lincoln for as the candidate for US presidency.
Another propaganda the US Government used was the idea they were fighting for freedom and human rights, yet the black soldiers fighting were not completely free and were having their own human rights abused back in America. As well as the fact the fact that despite the US welcomed the extra soldiers but still treated them unequally sparked something amongst the black community. And so began the Double V Campaign. It stood for Victory Abroad, Victory at Home. It meant they wanted Victory against Nazi Germany and the Axis, and Victory for Civil Rights.
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.
The Civil War began as a conflict regarding states’ rights. The South argued that the Federal Government’s powers were limited by the Constitution. Southerners also believed the Federal Government abused its powers. According to the South, slavery was a state issue, not an issue to be decided by the Federal Government. The Northern view of America before the Civil War was one of progress.