The Civil War As A Theological Crisis By Mark Noll

The civil war redefined what it meant to be an American because the nation was divided. The civil war redefined to be an American because it changed laws and american’s were also divided over slavery. Nobody ever helped Sojourner Truth get into carriages,over mud puddles or even gives her any best place. Frederick Douglass told others that they would be free when you are twenty-one during the civil war, but he said that he is a slave for life. Paul Revere quotes said On a shadowy something far away,where the river widens to meet the bay,a line of black,that bends and floats on the rising tide,like a bridge of boats so it basically has something to do with the civil war or the fact that he feels bad for the people who are slaves and need help.

The Civil War. Louis P. Masur’s book, The civil War: a Concise History, Is a book that gives an overview of the civil war from 18 to 1800, Providing multiple causes an consequences that emerged from the war. The book begins by reviewing the origins of the war. Chapter one covers the issues between northern and southern states and the tension over right and slave possession. The tension created a conflict that raised a number of political, social, and military events that then proceeded into a battle to abolish slavery from the colonies.

Slavery was a big part of our nation’s history. The North and the South had different opinions of slavery which led to the Civil War. The first arrival of slaves was in 1619. A Dutch ship brought twenty Africans to Virginia and they were sold. It spread to the thirteen colonies and, by 1776, almost 600,000 slaves lived in our country.

“It is good that war is so horrible or, we might grow to like it”-Robert E, Lee. Lee is saying that Texans didn’t want to go to war, but their willing to do it for their state’s rights. Events that lead up to the war was when Abraham Lincoln got elected because he was anti-slavery President, and he wanted to end slavery in the united states. Texans fought in The Civil War, to protect states rights, Texas secession, and slavery.

The Civil War was a terrible tragedy that affected millions of people, but helped toward the abolition of slavery. Compromises over slavery failed, huge disagreements over slavery developed, and the people were in outrage in both the North and South. Slavery was the main reason for sectionalism and the outrage over it. The nation was divided on the subject. Ultimately, sectionalism slavery were the main reasons for the Civil War.

The North viewed slavery as something that was immoral and the South viewed slavery as being a part of Christianity through the Bible. Here we have two sides that both have their own beliefs and they show the use civil religion when they fight for them. The Civil War may not have been a war of religion, meaning it included God, to some people, but it was a war that had civil religion. Civil religion played a big part in the war because everyone involved was fighting for their

Evangelical preachers, in keeping with their social doctrine that targeted the disadvantaged in society, attempted to convert slaves and Native Americans. Prior to the Awakening no one had made a serious effort at their conversion for fear that Christianity was “a step towards freedom” (357). Slaves attended evangelical sermons en masse, wary of the Anglican ministers who supported their masters. Evangelical Christianity offered moments of release and equality from the perpetual suffering of a slave’s life. This did not mean, however, that the evangelists actively opposed slavery.

The American civil war led to the reunion of the South and the North. But, its consequences led the Republicans to take the lead of reconstructing what the war had destroyed especially in the South because it contained larger numbers of newly freed slaves. Just after the civil war, America entered into what was called as the reconstruction era. Reconstruction refers to when “the federal government established the terms on which rebellious Southern states would be integrated back into the Union” (Watts 246). As a further matter, it also meant “the process of helping the 4 million freed slaves after the civil war [to] make the transition to freedom” (DeFord and Schwarz 96).

Hitchens ponders the question “Does religion make people behave better?” He argues that it clearly does not. He focuses on the two sides of the abolition of slavery movement, and how the anti-abolitionist side how scripture in their court, and fought with more religious fervor. He also argued that secular morality had a much clearer path to fight a moral cause against slavery. Later, Mr.Hitchens goes on to talk about how many religious tenants are “positively immoral.”

Though a Christian nation, American’s practices and believes are not consistent to Bible’s laws and commandment. Douglass argues that “the existence of slavery in this country brands republicanism as a sham, humanity as a base pretence, and Christianity as lie” (35), meaning that America is a nation of “inconsistencies.” Though they call themselves Christians, their religion is nothing but a lie as they do not follow God’s commandment of piety, they are full of pride, insolence and vices. He further argues that the “national inconsistencies… saps the foundation of religion” since it “shelters crimes” (35) against humanity. However, he does do that to ridicule Americans, rather he does it to emphasize the inconsistence amongst American believes and practices.

Dailey stages the allegation of miscegenation being the root religious civil rights issues with the theology of Segregation, the effects of the Brown decision, and the Ministers march. As a whole, Dailey emphasizes the importance of the testimonies that segregation was “the commandment and law of God”. Also, that most historians tend to “pass” over this topic, condemning “the most lasting triumph of the civil rights movement: its successful appropriation of Christian Dogma” (Dailey 122). “…why

It is a common argument for Christian slaveholders to make “…that God cursed Ham, and therefore American slavery is right…” (5). this argument exposes their hypocrisy as it conveys how they attempt to stretch small pieces of scripture to justify the violence of the American slavery. Douglass thus asks if it is humane to use a small piece of writing to damn an entire race to hardship and subhuman treatment. This case of blasphemy is amplified by the observation that Douglass makes of one of his slave masters, Mr. Covey, in that “he seemed to think himself equal to deceiving the almighty” (61).

Originally, as a new nation emerging, the United States was focused on building and stabilizing itself in order to seem powerful to foreign countries. However, as time went on, the North and the South disagreed over various issues and were eventually divided. Many events arose which worsened the split between the North and South after the Antebellum Era, resulting in the South seceding from the Union. The reason why Southern states seceded from the Union in 1860 and 1861 was the controversy over slavery between the North and the South. One main event that contributed to the controversy over slavery and the South’s secession was Abraham Lincoln’s election.

The Civil War was one of the bloodiest wars in the history in America. The Civil War was fought between the North and the South because of slavery. Even though Texas was strongly connected with the Union, they were concerned about the attacks by the North. Texas believed that slavery was an important factor in order for the state to grow. Texas fought in the Civil War to protect states rights, for the love of Texas, and to keep slavery.

Religion and its relationship to slavery is a contradictive subject, whether it was forced upon slaves or was a form of hope and freedom is still commonly debated about to this day. However, these individuals were devoted Christians in the abolitionist movement who all