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    Engl 3134 Final

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    Political, economic, and moral differences between the North and South severely divided the United States and ultimately led to the Civil War. Politically, the South favored states' rights over a strong federal government and wanted to protect the institution of slavery, while the North opposed the expansion of slavery into new territories. Economically, the North industrialized while the South maintained an agrarian economy dependent on slave labor. Morally, abolitionists and religious groups opposed slavery as immoral, though many southerners viewed it as a necessary institution. These mounting tensions over slavery and states' rights came to a head in the 1860 presidential election and southern secession, precipitating the Civil War.

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    Engl 3134 Final

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    73 views11 pages
    Political, economic, and moral differences between the North and South severely divided the United States and ultimately led to the Civil War. Politically, the South favored states' rights over a strong federal government and wanted to protect the institution of slavery, while the North opposed the expansion of slavery into new territories. Economically, the North industrialized while the South maintained an agrarian economy dependent on slave labor. Morally, abolitionists and religious groups opposed slavery as immoral, though many southerners viewed it as a necessary institution. These mounting tensions over slavery and states' rights came to a head in the 1860 presidential election and southern secession, precipitating the Civil War.

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    Political, economic, and moral differences between the North and South severely divided the United States and ultimately led to the Civil War. Politically, the South favored states' rights over a strong federal government and wanted to protect the institution of slavery, while the North opposed the expansion of slavery into new territories. Economically, the North industrialized while the South maintained an agrarian economy dependent on slave labor. Morally, abolitionists and religious groups opposed slavery as immoral, though many southerners viewed it as a necessary institution. These mounting tensions over slavery and states' rights came to a head in the 1860 presidential election and southern secession, precipitating the Civil War.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    73 views11 pages

    Engl 3134 Final

    Uploaded by

    api-338762863
    Political, economic, and moral differences between the North and South severely divided the United States and ultimately led to the Civil War. Politically, the South favored states' rights over a strong federal government and wanted to protect the institution of slavery, while the North opposed the expansion of slavery into new territories. Economically, the North industrialized while the South maintained an agrarian economy dependent on slave labor. Morally, abolitionists and religious groups opposed slavery as immoral, though many southerners viewed it as a necessary institution. These mounting tensions over slavery and states' rights came to a head in the 1860 presidential election and southern secession, precipitating the Civil War.

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    of 11

    The Civil War

    And the events that lead to the division of the


    United States

    The reasons for the Civil War have long been debated. The time period in American history
    was convoluted with many agendas from both the North and the South. There were many powerful
    and influential people involved in the country's differences, starting back before the Civil War began
    until after it ended. The causes for the rift between the North and the South include political (states'
    rights versus an indestructible Union), economic (an agrarian versus an industrial economy), and
    moral (slavery versus free labor). The nature of the conflict is best described by the political
    motivations, as human inherently feel the need to be right and have their voices heard.

    The Civil War


    Political differences were key to the unrest that ruled America in the time before and during the
    Civil War. From the very beginning when Americans won their independence from Great Britain, the
    undeniable desire for freedom and rights without the interference of an overruling federal government
    fueled the actions of the citizens. During the Age of Jackson, "a New Democratic spirit overwhelmed
    the centuries-old customary deference and respect among the masses for the elite upper classes", so
    people were beginning to notice the need for support for those who were of lower social status
    (Course Lecture 23 - The Age of
    Jackson). President Jackson
    denied to use federal power to
    better the United States, like his
    predecessors had, because he
    wanted to create a political
    environment that wasn't reliant
    on a strong federal presence.
    He wanted the states to have more of a voice in decisions and improvement of the nation.

    The opposition on the topic of slavery that existed between the North and South states was elevated
    when the voices of the individual states were promoted by Jackson's such views of a weaker
    national government presence. Also, as people became interested in moving westward, the Manifest
    Destiny period began. Politically, Americans that were apart of the Liberty Party at the time looked
    down upon Henry Clay's endorsement of the annexation of Texas because that would mean putting
    the nation at war with Mexico, so they supported the candidate James G. Birney. The Liberty Party
    was in favor of ending slavery, so that is why they disagreed with the idea of going to war with
    Mexico to add another slave state to the Union.

    The Civil War


    The antislavery Northern Democrats were also against the idea of the Mexican War that
    ensued. This furthered the divide of the nation. The free versus slave went head to head as
    new states began to join the U.S. When the Gold Rush in California occurred from 1848-1849,
    many people flooded to the area. California decided to join the Union as a free state, which
    angered the southern slave states because it "would outnumber slave states and this
    tyranny of the majority therefore would soon possess the votes in Congress to empower the
    Federal government to abolish slavery" (Course Lecture 28 - The Compromise of 1850).
    During the Compromise of 1850, politicians allowed California to be added as a free state,
    but let the new states of New Mexico and Utah decide for themselves if they would be free or
    slave. This both
    temporarily
    settled
    tensions and
    strengthened
    the Union. In
    1855, Kansas
    entered the
    Union as a
    slave state.

    The Civil War


    Democrats were at a loss of what to do
    politically, and Republicans won the election
    of 1860. All of these movements helped gear
    America towards the secession of the South
    and the beginning
    of the Civil War.
    The states in the
    South continued to
    call for their rights
    to own slaves, with
    "Fire-Eater"

    believe that the right

    spokespeople like

    of property in a slave

    Jefferson Davis,

    is not district lay and

    who became the

    expressly affirmed in

    head of the

    the Constitution" (8.4

    Confederacy during

    Political Lens). With

    the Civil

    their voices not being

    War. Abraham Lincoln, who was in favor of

    heard, the South decided to finally secede

    the abolition movement, won the presidency

    from the Union to create the Confederacy,

    through the electoral votes of the nation, yet

    maintaining that the states' rights were being

    the popular votes demonstrated that the South

    ignored. In the end, the unstoppable Union

    was not in favor of him. Lincoln, in the fifth

    defeated the Confederacy in the Civil War,

    debate as candidate for president, said "I

    thanks to their Anaconda strategy that


    strangled the South.

    The Civil War


    The economic incentives also had a major impact on the cause of the Civil War. The agrarian
    South, which consisted of an elite group of plantation owners with slave labor that earned them high
    return on their crops, and the industrial North, which focused their income on new and developing
    technologies and manufacturing. With the debacle over slavery rising in the mid-1800's, southern

    farmers became
    increasingly weary of
    their economic stability.
    If the slaves were freed,
    they wouldn't be able to
    find laborers that would
    want to do such laborintensive work. Also,
    they would lose their
    cheap labor, decreasing
    their profit margins.

    This caused the elite of their society to raise their opinions to others and get their support. The
    South is where the agrarian lifestyle was concentrated. Although there was a small fraction of the
    population that actually owned a lot of slaves, the planters, "a substantial segment of the population,
    who, owning only a handful of slaves, desired to enter the ranks of the planter class and therefore
    supported the institution of slavery" (Course Lecture 28 - The Market Revolution).

    The Civil War


    When resistance to the institution of slavery occurred, so many in the South, who were hoping to
    achieve the American dream of fame, fortune, and respect, spoke out against the powers that be
    that were in favor of emancipating the slaves. Thomas R. Dew, son of a wealthy plantation owner,
    wrote an essay called "The Pro-Slavery Argument" saying, "we have no hesitation in affirming
    that slavery has been, perhaps, the principal means for impelling forward the civilization of
    mankind", to prove his point that slavery was good for the South's economy and that is was the
    best kind of labor they could have(7.4 Political Lens).

    The Civil War


    The industrial life of the North also knew that they could benefit from the slaves being freed
    because they would be able to hire the slaves to work in the factories for much cheaper than the
    whites they employed at that time. During Ante-Bellum Reform America, the Market Revolution in
    the North sparked interest for immigrants to find work in factories, although they barely made any
    money. Both the North and the South saw each other as opportunists, not being fair to the
    workers they employed. Right before the Civil War began, "northerners were becoming

    increasingly resentful and angry at these 'Slavocrats', while southerners criticized the North for
    exploiting 'wage-slaves' in its factories, as the sectional rivalry heated up" (Course Lecture 26 The Market Revolution). The intense hatred between the money-making systems in the North and
    South was a major strife that lead to the Civil War.

    The Civil War


    Although moral reasons for ending slavery would seem like the most
    justifiable cause of the Civil War, it was actually commonly used as a front for
    political and economic agendas. There still were some that were purely in the
    abolition movement for the freedom of slaves, though. During this time period,
    the key players in the moral battle for the emancipation of slaves that lead to
    the war were religious figures and African Americans, whether freed or still
    enslaved. Many important people in this time period discussed if the Founding

    Fathers who wrote all of the federal


    documents that established America
    as an independent nation included the
    slaves. Protestant Evangelical
    Christians abhorred slavery, so they
    voted for the presidential candidate of
    the Liberty Party James G. Birney in
    in 1844 election since that party was
    for abolition.

    "Those who deny freedom to


    others, deserve it not for
    themselves; and, under a just God,
    can not long retain it."
    -Abraham Lincoln
    The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln edited by Roy P. Basler, Volume III, "Letter To Henry L.
    Pierce and Others" (April 6, 1859), p. 376.

    The Civil War

    Also, during the Ante-Bellum Reform, a period of time called the Second Great Awakening
    encouraged Americans to "struggle zealously against immorality and social injustice, which
    acted as an obstacle to human progress" (Course Lecture 27 - Ante-Bellum Reform). This
    lead people to conclude that slavery was an evil practice, unfair to the African American
    population. Reformers were often involved in multiple movements, all meant to make the U.S.
    a more Godly country. For example, Lyman Beecher, "a prominent Presbyterian minister, was
    heavily involved in the Abolitionist, Temperance, and Sabbatarian movements", making word
    spread fast across the nation that caused people to develop an opinion on slavery, whether
    for or against (Course Lecture 27 - Ante-Bellum Reform). , Americans could earn that wealth
    they all were pursuing after. This what yet another issue that separated the U.S.

    The Civil War


    At this point in history, the North and South began to morally separate from each other.
    Many southerners believed slavery to be
    a necessary evil for the development of
    civilization, and that there was nothing
    in the Constitution of the Declaration of
    Independence that explicitly included
    the slaves as free Americans. They
    fought that there was nothing morally
    wrong, as there was nothing written in
    the federal documents that established
    the nation, with the institution of slavery
    in the South. There were also some welleducated and freed slaves that took part
    in the tensions that built up to the war.
    Dred Scott, a slave from Missouri, took
    his owner to the U.S. Supreme Court to
    sue him over his rights to freedom since
    they had originally been in the free state
    of Illinois. Although it was ruled that
    because "of his race [he] was not a
    citizen and therefore could not sue in
    federal court", this monumental step allowed for debates across the North and South.

    The Civil War


    Frederick Douglass, a former slave and abolitionist, wrote a speech in which
    he said "This Fourth of July... [y]ou may rejoice, I must mourn", highlighting
    the idea that the Constitution actually could be extended to the slave population (8.4 Social Lens). The Lincoln-Douglas debates in this time period also
    brought up the concept of "Free Labor" which was what Lincoln encouraged.
    Free Labor was the idea that if fee Americans would work hard enough instead of relying on the free slave labor of the South.

    War was easy.


    The hard part was
    cleaning up
    afterward.
    Evan Meekins, The

    Black Banner

    Slavery had many different influential factors in the American culture during the 1800's.
    Leading up to the Civil War, political, economical, and moral debates sparked a fire in the hearts of
    the citizens. Everyone had an opinion on the institution of slavery, what the rights of the states
    included, and whether or not African Americans had the same endowed freedoms as the whites.
    The Civil War was a complex and involved time period in history. Although, the political reason
    seem to be the strongest.

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