The American Civil War: Was It Inevitable?

What many people don’t know is that the original intent of the Civil War was to preserve the Union. Many factors went into Lincoln’s decision to also address slavery through this war. For one, the number of men enlisting in the war was dwindling, and it became apparent that black manpower would be absolutely necessary to win the war. Also, the increasingly upset Radical Republicans and abolitionists let their opinions be known and persuaded the citizens of the North that the war could not be won without attacking the issue of slavery. Finally, Lincoln believed that transforming the dispute from a conflict to preserve the Union to a crusade against slavery would dissuade the threatening British and French from supporting the Confederacy.

The Missouri Compromise of 1820 triggered a negative reaction from both sides: the abolitionists despised the expansion of slavery in Missouri, while supporters of slavery desired more land than Missouri that allow... ... middle of paper ... ...weighed it options and each statem, one-by-one, seceded, in the hopes that slavery would be preserved. Eventually slavery did die out and the southern states were once again apart of the union, but not without a civil war. Ultimately the North and South’s differences could not be resolved through anything other than a Civil War. These causes, as well as others, left the South no other viable option, in their eyes, than to secede from the union, leading to the Civil War. Political, societal, and philosophical conflicts combined with one another to form the ultimate disagreement over slavery between the two regions.

Lincoln’s main priorities were to preserve the Union, and reserve the republic. Slavery, in some ways, was a nonissue to Lincoln unless the republic was threatened. Lincoln was dead set opposed to secession, which greatly worried the South. The South realized that if Lincoln won the election, they would lose power. Due to this worry of losing their “way of life” due to Lincoln’s victory in the election, the South decided to secede from the Union, which eventually lead to the Civil War.

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).

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.

He began by stating," Mr. President, I wish to speak today, not as a Northern man, but as an American...”, because he is trying to prove a point that they could not stand if they were labeled as Northerners or Southerners. He went on to talk about how the talk of secession was crazy because the people who stated it self-cla... ... middle of paper ... ...ent that a war was the only way that the conflict would resolve. The election of 1860 confirmed everyone’s suspicions because half the country split after the election was split and the South was upset. Many affluent people in the South felt it was their need to secede from the Union to keep their constitutional rights that were ‘being stripped from them’. From the beginning, it was clear that the country would not form with slavery gone, so it was pushed off to the side and they decided that the issue would be decided later.

This occurred as the other, more industrial, interests of the broad based party dominated their platform; leaving the blacks to face the wrath of the Southerners. A final blow to the hopes for national protection of African American civil rights was dealt with The Force Bill of 1890. In this bill, the Senate objected to the idea of... ... middle of paper ... ...e Radical Republicans had embarked on a costly Reconstruction plan and set up legislation meant to protect black civil rights, the blacks did not thrive. The Supreme Court successfully chipped away at any progress made by the Republicans. Rulings made in the later half of the 19th Century reduced the scope of the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments, and lead to the further subordination of the Black race by Southern State governments.

Although this was the dream of the Founding Fathers, it failed to achieve its peak when slavery came into argument. By the 1850’s the Constitution’s purpose had fell short of its original image, and the government struggled to resolve all the issues including the failure to devise an effective way to decide whether slavery would exist within a new state, the discontent of slaves and free blacks in relation to the Fugitive Slave Acts, and the thwarting of secession within the South. When the controversies could no longer be contained, the first shots of the Civil War were fired at Fort Sumter. Indeed, the topic of slavery had torn apart the nation; the United States of America was anything but “united”.

The southern states that seceded from the nation formed the Confederate States of America led by President Jefferson Davis. Their essential purpose was to defend “the ... ... middle of paper ... ... Those states, seven total, respond by separating from the nation and creating the Confederate States of America. The Confederates then became the one that “make” the war. President Lincoln was not the sole motivation for the war. 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.

“If anything, the opposition was more powerful and effective in the North than in the South.” (Why Did the Confederacy Lose?, pg 120) However the powerful opposition in the North w... ... middle of paper ... ...t and see it as a way to get rid of the moral burden of slavery. The conservative stands Lincoln originally held were broken with the Emancipation Proclamation, causing a massive internal struggle in the South to bring them down. This is why the North had already won to the extent of Lincoln’s conservative political stands. “Having taken an oath to preserve and defend the Constitution, which protected slavery, “I did not consider that I had a right to touch the ‘State’ institution of ‘Slavery’ until all other measures for restoring the Union had failed….”” (Who Freed The Slaves, pg 203) The attrition strategy was halted with the mental conversion of the war being a moral war and the internal divisions in the South would finally clinch victory for the North. However all other advantages were possessed by the North and therefore the North had won the Civil War before it began to the extent of Lincoln’s conservative political stands.