The final straw was the election of Abraham Lincoln as president, as the existence of slavery was threatened. As a result, most of the slave-owning southern states withdrew from the Union, and formed the Confederate States of America. The Confederate States fought the Civil War for state rights, while the Union states fought to abolish slavery and preserve the Union. Political discord and social involvement contributed to the cause of the Civil War. Instead of easing tension, the Compromise of 1850 and the Kansas-Nebraska Act triggered political discord, and intensified the slavery issue, ultimately leading to Civil War.
Social disputes in different viewpoints of people regarding slavery eventually initiated the Civil War. Political and social issues set off the spark that led to the Civil War. Forbidding Congress to ban slavery in federal territories, the Dred Scott Decision showed the Supreme Court’s power over Congress, which led to disunity and shock in the northern states. By electing Lincoln during the election of 1860, the South’s role on political influences diminished harshly. The Fugitive Slave Act and the abolition movement expressed people’s opinions on the debate involving slavery, between the northern and southern states.
Therefore, according to Americans in the years prior to the Civil War, conflict was inevitable. As a central figure in the Republican Party and passionate advocate for anti-slavery, William Henry Seward characterized the conflict between the Southern Democrats and Northern Republicans as inevitable. Each political party had two radically different ideologies regarding the expansion of slavery into western territories. The Southern Democrats believed that slavery should exist in all western states while the Northern Republicans strongly disagreed. Similar to the ideologies of the Republicans, Seward believed that slavery was unjust and humans were granted the r... ... middle of paper ... ...ry as inhumane and against universal suffrage.
The election of Lincoln, secession of the southern states and the Confederate States of America Constitution set the stage for the bloodiest and saddest war in American history. Before the Civil War even began the nation was divided into four very distinct regions; Northeast, Northwest, Upper south and the Southwest. With two fundamentally different labor systems, slavery in the south and wage labor in the North, the political, economic and social changes across the nation would show the views of the North and the South. The civil war was based on the abolitionists' ideas of emancipation and liberation of slavery the North wanted the war in order to create a society without slavery. The North's aggression to control the south lead to the where were it was no longer tolerable for the South.
The long and continuous conflicting views on slavery between the North and South grouped with the political power struggles over the new western territories was only further fueled with their economical and social differences. To state that the Civil War was avoidable would be just be a plain lie. The war meant to take place and it did. Works Cited 1. “American Civil War.” History.
The South despised Lincoln 's election and rose up in revolt by forming the Confederate States of America. Both the North and the South were responsible for the crisis, but the election of Lincoln had the most impact. All of these factors are what began the war in which brother fought brother. In the years of 1830 through 1860, a breach in the unity between the North and the South of the United States occurred. They faced an
Since American’s founding the issue of slavery surfaced many times, resulting in compromises attempting to please both sides. The North believed that slavery was morally corrupt, while those in the South believed that it essential for their livelihood. This dispute was fueled with the nation’s thirst for expansion of new territory as well. As new territory was conquered the question arose whether the new state would be a slave state ... ... middle of paper ... ...and final major issue that resulted in the Civil War being fought was the election of Republican President Lincoln in 1860, which added to the fiery debate and led ultimately to secession among the states. Abraham Lincoln believed and made known that he thought that “slavery was an evil… that [every man] had the right to freedom and fruits of their labor” (PowerPoint).
Near the end of the Antebellum Era, tensions and sectionalism increased as the states argued over what was constitutional. The South had later seceded from the United States and had become the Confederacy of America while the North had remained as the Union. The South had fully supported states’ rights while the north had strongly disapproved it. However, westward expansion, southern anger with the abolitionists, and the secession of the South that had destroyed the feeling of unity in the country because of the disagreement over slavery had been the main factors to the cause of the Civil War. Therefore, since slavery was the primary reason for the discontent in the country, it had been the primary cause of the Civil War.
Numerous social issues befell, developing controversy which would later lead to the Civil War. An event that caused great strife was the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which allowed popular sovereignty to decide the legality of slavery in those areas. This act was devised so that it would reduce tensions and perhaps solve the issue of slavery. Yet, it had the complete opposite effect, as it led to increased tensions and violence. Since it eliminated the restriction on slavery north of the 36° 30’ line, antislavery Northerners were outraged, believing that the whole implication was a plot to “turn free territory into a ‘dreary region… inhabited by masters and slaves.’” (Deverell and White 447) Pro-slaver... ... middle of paper ... ...ews of social and political issues, thus causing the most brutal war America has ever encountered.
Political, societal, and philosophical conflicts combined with one another to form the ultimate disagreement over slavery between the two regions. All in all, admitting a disproportionate amount of free states to slave states into the union, preventing slavery from expanding, and President Lincoln’s election were significant factors that lead to the secession of the southern states in 1860 and 1861.