Sectional Discord Causes

In this paper there has been a discussion of the legislation and the tensions preceding the southern Secession. Based on this discussing it can be concluded that the tensions, which culminated with the Civil War, were present many decades before the secession itself. Even threats of Civil war and secession were present much prior to this particular conflict. 
This paper has also concluded that the threat of Lincoln was real to the South, because of the Republican party’s very distinct foundation as an anti-slavery party. Slavery was a soft spot in the South because of the substantial value slaves had.

The Civil War was a battle of great importance to our history of the United States. On April 12th, 1861 this battle broke out between the Union States, North, and the Confederate States, such as the South. The Civil War took place all throughout the United states, and did not come to an end until the Union won the war on May 9, 1856. So, our question of “What caused the Civil War”, comes with three important answers. The three main causes of the Civil War between the North and the South were Economic, Social, and Political differences.

Uncompromising differences between the South (Confederacy) and the North (Union) created a civil war that lasted five years. During this war, Abraham Lincoln was president. His election led to the secession of many Southern states. After refusing to recognize the Confederacy as its own nation, the American Civil War commenced in 1861. The three main causes of the Civil War between the North and the South were industrial and agricultural economies, politics, and slavery.

The issue of popular sovereignty, rights of self-government, moral justification of slavery and economic freedom led to the emergence of Abraham Lincoln as an outspoken leader in the Republican Party. He began to be a larger voice to the spread of slavery in the West and other new territories. His skeptical belief in the Democrat’s justification of the spread of slavery led to his renewed interest in national

In the 1850s, slavery was the perhaps maybe the number one topic of discussion in politics that did not actually get voiced. However, when it came to president candidates, they steered clear of declaring an official stance on slavery. For example, in the “presidential election of 1852, the Whigs and the Democrats tried once again to appeal to voters across the North-South divide by running candidates who either skirted the slavery issue or voice ambiguous views…”. Everyone knew that if they voiced their opinion on slavery as antislavery or proslavery, they would win the North or the South, not both. By making it seem like they did not have an opinion, it was more likely that they would get the votes they needed in order to win.

Aspects of the question to be examined: • The extent to which there were meaningful differences between why the respective Northern and Southern segments of the United States wanted to abolish slavery • For purposes of answering the question, the ‘The North’ of the United States is synonymous with the Union states and likewise ‘The South’ is defined as those states which comprised the Confederate States of America • The significance of slavery in Southern society and whether it was comparable to that of pre-abolition North • The role played by the contrasting institutions of the North and South in hastening or hindering the abolitionist movement Historical debates: • One group of scholars stress the role of morality and personal values. Leon F. Litwack says that it was the public adoption of ‘principles used to justify the American Revolution’ which ultimately doomed slavery in the North. Eugene Genovese also rejects the notion of ‘dollars and cents’ being the motivation towards maintaining slavery in the South. Stephen Haynes and James Stewart underscore the importance that religion

The Civil War marked a defining moment in United States history. Long simmering sectional tensions reached a critical stage in 1860-1861 when eleven slaveholding states seceded and formed the Confederate States of America. Political disagreement gave way to war in April 1861, as Confederates insisted on their right to leave the Union and the loyal states refused to allow them to go. Four years of fighting claimed almost 1.5 million casualties directly affected untold civilians, and freed four million enslaved African Americans. The social and economic system based on chattel slavery that the seceding states had sought to protect lay in ruins.

Election of 1860 My sticky note, The Election of 1860, was a very important part and greatly influenced the start of the Civil War. The reason behind this statement is that many people in the south opposed Lincoln as becoming president. Southerners feared that slaves would revolt and did not have trust in Lincoln. Northerners liked what Lincoln had to offer and wanted him to become president.

The election was significant as it reflected that Northerners perceived the Slave Power to be a greater threat than the Catholic Church, it played an important role in the growth of the Republican party and in portraying the downfall of the Know Nothings (American Party). This essay will analyse these factors and

Abstract Slavery provided America with a wide range of labor, and fortune. Ideals from Christianity, and Revolution forced many to grapple with the idea of ending it. Throughout the antebellum era politicians debated the merits allowing the people of territories themselves to decide whether slavery would be prohibited or permitted. This solution created a host of problems. From the establishment of the Northwest and Southwest territories, to the Louisiana Purchase, the annexation of Texas, the acquisition of the Mexican Cession, and finally the debate over Kansas and Nebraska, the extension of slavery confounded politicians.

Perhaps one of the greatest elections in American history was the election of 1860. It was a unique election, because it sets the stage for the American Civil War. Throughout the 1850s, the United States was divided around the issues of states’ rights and slavery in the country’s territories (The Presidential Election of 1860, 2010). The Republicans opposed the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which repealed the 1820 Missouri Compromise of prohibiting slavery north of the latitude thirty-six degrees and thirty. Many saw this as a pro-slavery expansionist movement.

‘Slavery was the root cause of secession’. ‘November 6 1860, Lincoln was elected president of America which resulted in panic emerging in the South’ . The election of Lincoln as president who was a Republican leader meant that ideologies, movements and values from the North would be implemented in the South which meant the abolition of slavery. Slavery was a huge characteristic of the South as the economy; politics; social status and psychological mind-sets were influenced by the process of slavery. The southern white population then derived the idea of secession which meant the South would gain independence from Northern aggression .

In February 1861, a new government was on the horizon in the United States, known as the Confederate States of America. Composed of seven states from the South, this new government looked to separate from a union that they felt was tipping in power towards those who wanted to threaten the rights of the South, especially slavery. Similarly, in early 1775, colonists were preparing for revolution against a power that they felt oppressed their rights and wanted to take away their liberties. However, the Civil War was a not a complete representation of a second American Revolution. The Civil War was more than an unsatisfied party rebelling against a larger power, but a clash between two vastly different ways of life.

Cotton had become America’s most valuable export; more valuable, in fact, than everything else the nation exported to the world combined (Horton and Horton, 2005). The worth of slaves increased correspondingly so that on the eve of the Civil War their value was greater than the total value of all the nation’s banks, railroads, and manufacturing (Horton and Horton, 2005). That allowed the South to translate its economic power into political power. Consequently, by 1860, slaveholders and their sympathizers controlled the Supreme Court and the major committees of Congress. In addition, they had a strong supporter in the President, Pennsylvania-born James Buchanan.

Constitution and altered it by explicitly protecting the institution of slavery. This peculiar institution was what made the Confederacy unique. Sectionalism over economic, social, political, and constitutional issues regarding slavery continued from Buchanan’s inauguration in 1857 until secession after Lincoln’s election in 1860. “The expansion of slavery into western territories provided the catalyst for the growing perceptions of northerners and southerners that they held different intentions of the republic’s future.” “In the South, loyalty to slavery and its required expansion became the hallmark of party politics as the region’s politicians—Whigs, Know-Nothing, and Democrat—competed to demonstrate their loyalty to southern rights.”