Election of Lincoln and Civil War

Southern Democrat, James Henry Hammond, believed that slavery was necessary for the economic growth of the nation and without it, the North would also perish. Furthermore, the Constitutional Convention of South Carolina agreed secession was unavoidable when Abraham Lincoln was appointed into office. Therefore, initiated the beginning of an inevitable confrontation between the North and the South. These two exceptionally strict and uncompromising ideologies regarding slavery led to one of the most controversial and bloody wars in American history.

The North's aggression to control the south lead to the where were it was no longer tolerable for the South. With the election of the anti-slavery Republican Abraham Lincoln, the southern states decided they had to take drastic action in order to protect their own interests. The south had been waiting for an excuse to secede form the union, the election of Lincoln by the North was their chance. The Northern abolitionists' states were mainly responsible for the Civil war in many political, social and economic aspects. Politically, the Northerners contributed immensely to the opening of the Civil War.

Did the North Win the Civil War before it Began? I agree with the idea that the North had won the Civil War before it began to the extent of Lincoln’s conservative political stands. Trying to receive the favor of the South while winning in the North would require Lincoln to take neutral stands in heated political issues like slavery. It wasn’t really wan by the North until he broke away from these stands to enact the Emancipation Proclamation and turn the tides of war in favor of the North. “This Lincoln always publicly condemned the abolitionists who fought slavery by extra constitutional means – and condemned also the mobs who deprived them of their right of free speech and free press.” (Holfstadter, Lincoln and the Self-Made Myth) Other than that, the North had the upper hand in nearly all aspects that really mattered in times of war.

The south which supported savery was furious especially to an idea of congressman tallmadge who disliked slavery who proposed missouri be able to enter as a slave ... ... middle of paper ... ...economic progress and national policies. During the battle of the south between states rights which meant the power and decisions a state would have a decision was made of secession. The differences between the north and the south grew because of the power and opinions that each side received and contributed. Even though people believe the civil war was caused by the state rights in some ways it was by the differences of slavery. The tension between the sides were strong which lead to the civil war, but were all caused by their disputes of slavery moving on towards the new expanding territories.

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.

Giving up slaves in the South would only decline their economy and put the North on top. On the other hand, the North felt that it was morally wrong for a human being to own another human being; regardless of the economic success they may bring you. These two different views are what almost drove the south out of the union, but instead, caused the inevitable civil war.

The South wanted to succeed from the United States because, they believed that there should be slavery. The North however did not want to have slavery, and wanted to free the slaves. The North and South could not compromise, so they decided to fight, and whoever won got there way. The North became the Union and the South became the Confederacy during the war. Some of the most important or bloodiest battles in the Civil War were, Gettysburg, Shiloh, Antietam, Vicksburg, and, Chancellorsville.

The North wanted to develop a high tariff which would protect the Northern manufacturer but which would not let the South to trade its cotton for foreign goods. The South saw the North want of good banking and currency system as discrimininatory. The main reason for the south wanting to succeed was due to the North’s view on slavery even though Lincoln just saw it as “somehow” the cause of the war. The South depended and needed it while the North was mostly against it. This issue overshadowed all others.

Anti-Slavery writers such as Seward and Helper urged the country to abandon the extension of slavery in order to protect the union and the economy. Others believe that the abolitionist movement was what instigated the Civil War. While it did have a role in this, the morality of slavery was not the driving force behind the dissonance between the North and South. Both sides were not mainly concerned with the moral injustice of slavery, but instead of the depth of their own pockets and their sum of power. The Civil War was prompted by differing interpretations by the North and South of economic and political issues, such as free labor ideology and the spread of slavery, as seen through the analysis of documents dating prior to the beginning of the war.

By 1855, the Whig Party had collapsed, and most of the members joined the new popular party, the Republicans. The Democrats believed in slavery, while the Republicans were against it. This led to greater conflict in the North and South, this gave them competition. In fact, the election of 1860 was a major cause of the Civil War. During this election, Lincoln became the first Republican president, vowing to abolish slavery.