In the 19th century, The United States was experiencing a profound era of reform. Along with the development of the nation, sectionalism began to intensify as well. Thus, the northern and southern states began to acknowledge a divide in America. The differences that manifested between the two groups largely concerned economic and political interests. Both the north and south sought to protect their own stability and promote the welfare of their own systems. Eventually, the growing tension would result in southern secession and a war. The Civil War would be fought for many dynamic reasons, however, three causes include the following: the northern usurpation on the stability of the South’s economy, the north disregarding the Dred-Scott versus …show more content…
The north discredited the value of slavery because it degraded the value of labor. Regarding works of literature, many northerners published pieces, “in which the institution of slavery is held up to the world as a blot and a stain upon the escutcheon of America’s honor as a nation.” Although slavery was a major industry that benefited the south, the north, “virtually repealed the Fugitive Slave Law, and declare(d) their determination not to abide by the decision of the Supreme Court guaranteeing (slaveholders) the right to claim property.” By disregarding the value and integral function of slavery in the south, the southern economy lost stability. Yet, the north continues to discount the economic welfare of the south and teach their children, “to look upon the slaveholder as the special disciple of the devil himself.” The intentional defiance toward a major industry in the south led southerners to resent the north for, “a most implacable hostility,” and would ultimately lead to a civil …show more content…
The decision claimed, “the right of property in a slave is distinctly and expressly affirmed in the Constitution.” This verdict coincides with southerners’ beliefs of a slave being equated to property, and thus, not being given the rights deemed to an American citizen in the constitution. However, regardless of the federal government intervening in the conflict, the north chose to continue to disregard the fugitive slave law and work toward benefitting their own interests. “The many aggressions which (the north has) made on the rights of the South during the time,” manifested upon ideals of emancipation. By choosing to not uphold the decision of the Dred-Scott versus Sanford Supreme Court case, nor the Fugitive Slave Law, the south felt the north had infringed on their constitutional rights. As it stood, “(the north) ha(d) the exclusive power of controlling the Government, which (left) the (south) without any adequate means of protecting itself against its encroachment and
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Show MoreThe North had a very different opinion of the American way and made it exceedingly clear with the formation of numerous abolition societies, effectively abolishing slavery across the northern region and allowing blacks to live as productive members society, rather than its the property. Even one of the most prominent slave holders of that time was forced to rethink the legitimacy of slavery. “Seeing free black soldiers in action undermined [George] Washington’s racial prejudice and ultimately his support for slavery itself” (Finkelman 18). The productivity, societal and political benefits, and military empowerment made available by freed slaves challenged the South’s sense of racial supremacy, thus they began to establish a defense against the complete abolition of
In the South, however, the economy was predominantly agricultural. Cotton and tobacco plantations relied heavily on the free labor of slaves for their economic prosperity. They saw the urbanization and industrialization of the North, and the economic connection between the North a...
After the American Revolution, slavery began to decrease in the North, just as it was becoming more popular in the South. By the turn of the century, seven of the most Northern states had abolished slavery. During this time, a surge of democratic reform swept the North to the West, and there were demands for political equality, economic and social advances for all Americans. Northerners said that slavery revoked the human right of being a free person and when new territories became available i...
Before civil war broke out, several parts of history foreshadowed the growing divide between the northern and southern areas of the United States. One being, differences in culture and lifestyle. The south’s economy predominately based itself off of agriculture; specifically the growing of tobacco, corn, and cotton. The big southern plantations, owned by several white elitist men, used slavery to operate, another major cause for civil war. The northern economy thrived off of manufacturing and big industrial business. Northern politicians and elite class members supported tariffs and the use of training large armies. As the divide grew, tempers and attitudes flared, as d...
Over the course of the 1860’s the hostility between the North and the South grew into an insipid relationship that only dragged on until the succession of North Carolina in 1860. The main disagreements that led to the Civil War grew over political differences. The issue of Federal versus State rights, stirred the question over how much power the government should possess, similarly the abolition movement clashed with the expansion of slavery in the South and after the elections that would inaugurate President Lincoln without one vote from a single southern state in 1861 the South was fully aware over the balance of power that was not present withi...
The economies of the North and South were vastly different leading up to the Civil War. Money was equivalent to power in both regions. For the North, the economy was based on industry as they were more modern and self-aware. They realized that industrialization was progress and it could help rid the country of slave labor as it was wrong. The North’s population had a class system but citizens could move within the system, provided they made the money that would allow them to move up in class. The class system was not as rigid as it was in the South. By comparison, the South wanted to hold on to its economic policy. In doing so, the practice of slavery kept the social order firmly in place. The economic factors, social issues and a growing animosity between the two regions helped to induce the Civil War.
Despite the war being over there was still tension, and the nation was as divided as ever. The southern democrats saw a lot of policies as a way to punish the south. The southern states were still economically crushed from the war which embittered them further after their loss.
Context: This past semester we studied the Civil War. Neither side anticipated the war would last long and both sides assumed they would win. The result of this conflict was 620,000 American men lost their lives.
Including the election and the instability of members of the Congress, the Kansas-Nebraska Act had major effects on the relationship between the parties and made politics even more unstable during this time. This act involved the “repeal of the Missouri Compromise and providing that settlers would determine the status of slavery in the territories” (Foner 479). This controversial act destroyed the balance between the free and slave states and led to the destruction of several political parties during this time. The Democratic party was divided because of this act and the more obscure Whig party “unable to develop a unified response to the political crisis, collapsed” (Foner 479). This left the two major political parties, the Republicans
By February of 1861 six states had seceded from the Union (Glass, 2008). The Civil War was impacted by Southern and Northern leaders. Two of the leaders in the South were Jefferson Davis and Robert E. Lee and in the North the Union was led by Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant. A few years after Lincoln’s election, the North and South swapped their party labels as the conservatives from the South grew dissatisfied with the Democratic Party's increasingly progressive platforms. Conversely, the historically Republican strongholds in the Northeast began voting Democrat.
The American Civil War was the bloodiest military conflict in American history leaving over 500 thousand dead and over 300 thousand wounded (Roark 543-543). One might ask, what caused such internal tension within the most powerful nation in the world? During the nineteenth century, America was an infant nation, but toppling the entire world with its social, political, and economic innovations. In addition, immigrants were migrating from their native land to live the American dream (Roark 405-407). Meanwhile, hundreds of thousand African slaves were being traded in the domestic slave trade throughout the American south. Separated from their family, living in inhumane conditions, and working countless hours for days straight, the issue of slavery was the core of the Civil War (Roark 493-494). The North’s growing dissent for slavery and the South’s dependence on slavery is the reason why the Civil War was an inevitable conflict. Throughout this essay we will discuss the issue of slavery, states’ rights, American expansion into western territories, economic differences and its effect on the inevitable Civil War.
With decades of brewing tensions between the northern and southern United States over issues including state’s rights versus authority, westward expansion and slavery. All the built up tension between the North and the South exploded into the American Civil War. The election of Republican Abraham Lincoln as president in 1860 caused seven southern states to secede from the Union to form the Confederate States of America; four more joined them after the first shots of the Civil War were fired. They seceded because they thought their way of life was threatened by the elected president. Four years of brutal conflict were marked by historic battles. In the Civil War there was brothers against brothers and neighbors against neighbors who were all
The old myth was that the North and South regions of the United States were colonized by two separate groups of migrants. Although this myth is false, one can understand why the northerners and southerners thought they were colonized by distinct groups. No two regions in United States history were more different than the North and the South, which enhances the idea that the Civil War was a long time coming. Although their different lifestyles, in and of themselves, differentiated the North and South, their respective lifestyles also caused their respective economies to flourish in completely different ways. The South was an agriculture-based society that “flourished” off of slave labor; on the other hand, the North was an industrial region, which implemented the idea of paid labor. Conflict between the North and the South began to arise, however, when each of their economic needs threatened the other region’s needs.
The Civil war was the time in the American history when American were trying to get the answer of like who Americans are, what right should they possess, whether a person can own the other person or not which took placed during 1861 to 1865 between southern and northern states over the issues of slavery. Civil War era is usually portrayed as the ear of war over the conflict of slavery fought between North against South as a struggle over free labor against slave labor and local sovereignty against Federal power. During the civil war and slavery era, African American had endured exclusion, humiliation, degradation, segregation in the American civil society.
The social differences between the North and the South were extreme; the North was highly populated, industrial and far more forward thinking (Schultz, 2009). The South, however, remained sparsely populated, agricultural, and desired little, if any, change. The South’s lack of desire for change led the North to believe they were regressive and wanted to halt the progress of the nation. However, the South perceived the North as arrogant, pretentious and wanting to end the Southern way of life. Socially, the North was progressive and industrial, while the South was traditional and