Causes Of The Civil War
The Union Dissolves
What events led the United States into civil war? There are many factors that lead into the beginning of the Civil War, but most of the disagreements arose from one problem: slavery. During this time, the nation was split into two: half of which supported slavery, and the other strongly against it. The Northerners were strongly against slavery while the Southerners supported it. Not only are there many causes of the Civil War; there were also many effects that emerged from the war (The American Vision 345).
One big turning point for the South was John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry. During John Brown’s raid, he brought together 18 followers and seized the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry; he believed, as one minister once …show more content…
told him, “that God had raised him up on purpose to break the jaws of the wicked” (The American Vision 337). John had a plan that he would start a rebellion after freeing and arming enslaved people. Southerners had long feared an uprising of African Americans and were angered that Northerners would attempt to arm enslaved people as well as encourage them to rebel. Even though the Republicans condemned Brown’s raid, Southerners still put the blame on the Republicans; mainly because they both opposed slavery. One Atlanta newspaper stated, “We regard every man who does not boldly declare that he believes African slavery to be a social, moral, and political blessing as an enemy to the institutions of the South” (The American Vision 341). John Brown’s raid angered many Southerners, which eventually contributed to the Civil War (The American Vision 337, 340-341).
In 1860, the Democratic Party was torn due to the debate over slavery in the western territories. In the North, the delegates wanted to support popular sovereignty, but the “Southern delegates wanted the party to uphold the Dred Scott decision and endorse a federal slave code for the territories” (The American Vision 341). The Dred Scott decision stated that slaves were property, not a citizen. After the split between the Democratic Party, Republican prospects greatly improved. Many of the radical Southern delegates intended for this to happen; they hoped this would be the turning point that lead to secession among the Southern states (The American Vision 341, 1080).
There were four main candidates in the election of 1860: Abraham Lincoln: who was for the Republican Party, Stephen Douglas: who was for the Northern Democrats, John C. Breckinridge: who was for the Southern Democrats, and John Bell: who was for a new party, the Constitutional Union Party, that was created due to the alarming danger of the Union. The Republicans knew there was no possible way of getting votes in the South, so they “needed a candidate who could sweep the North” (The American Vision 341). They decided on choosing Abraham Lincoln because he was very popular in the North due to debates with Douglas. During this time, Republicans tried convincing voters that they were not just an antislavery party; they condemned John Brown’s raid and “reaffirmed the right of the Southern states to preserve slavery within their borders” (The American Vision 341-342). With the Democratic votes were split between Douglas and Breckinridge, Lincoln ended up winning with an astonishing 180 electoral votes and no support from the Southerners. The election of a Republican president had Southerners feeling as though their culture and society was at risk, so they had no other option but to secede (The American Vision 341-342).
South Carolina was the first state to secede, which means “to leave or withdraw” (The American Vision 342). “By February 1, 1861, six more states in the Lower South- Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas- had voted to secede” (The American Vision 342). The Southerners had a belief that “secession was in the Revolutionary tradition and that they were fighting for American rights” (The American Vision 342). As the Lower South continued to secede, Congress tried to create a compromise to save the Union. There was only one problem: the South ignored Congress and the secessionists began to seize all of the federal property in their states. There were very few forts that remained to the Union, including: Fort Sumter, Fort Pickens, and a few others off of Florida's coast. Although this terrified the Northerners, they still attempted to compromise. With this being said, John J. Crittenden submitted numerous amendments to the Constitution; one being slavery guaranteed where it already exists, another would reinstate the Missouri Compromise line, expanding it to California's border. The Missouri Compromise was “an effort by the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives to maintain a balance of power between the slaveholding states and free states” (“Missouri Compromise”). Slavery would be not be allowed in the Northern states, but would be protected in the Southern states. However, Lincoln asked them to stay strong in the fight, and Crittenden’s Compromise was not passed (The American Vision 342-343).
Eventually, Virginia held a peace conference; at this time, they were in the Union but also a slave state. The main attendance came from the Northern and border states; none attended from the secessionist states. The delegates continued to meet for three weeks but failed to come up with anything new; the only thing that came about them was a modified version of Crittenden’s Compromise. After this idea was brought to Congress, it was rejected. While the delegates meet at the peace conference, the delegates from the seceding states had their own meeting. They soon became known as the Confederacy, “...in early February, they declared themselves to be a new nation- the Confederate States of America- or the Confederacy, as it became known” (The American Vision 343). At their convention, they drafted their own constitution- based mainly from the U.S. Constitution- but with some major changes. One of which “declares that each state was independent and guaranteed the existence of slavery in Confederate territory” (The American Vision 343). Following that, they “banned protective tariffs and limited the presidency to a single six-year term” (The American Vision 343). During the convention, they chose Jefferson Davis as the president of the Confederacy; he also happened to be a former Mississippi senator. While giving his inaugural speech, he stated, “The time for compromise had now passed. The South is determined to… make all who oppose her smell Southern powder and feel Southern steel” (The American Vision 343).
In April, it was announced that Fort Sumter was intended to be resupplied.
Lincoln warned the Confederacy of the shipment, and they knew that a war with the U.S. would begin if they fired at the supply ship. As president of the Confederacy, Davis chose to act before the supply ship arrived and take over Fort Sumter. Peace might be preserved if all goes as planned. A note was delivered to Major Robert Anderson demanding the surrender of Fort Sumter by April 12, 1861. The time came and passed and cannons were fired; for 33 hours, Confederates attacked Fort Sumter, consequently “wrecking the fort but killing no one” (The American Vision 344). The destruction continued until Anderson and his men finally surrendered. This was the beginning of what we now know as the Civil War (The American Vision 343-344). Many more states began to secede, and Lincoln was set on keeping the “slaveholding border states from seceding” (The American Vision 344). Washington would be completely surrounded by Confederate territory if Maryland decided to secede. Lincoln tried to prevent Maryland from seceding by imposing the martial law in Baltimore. “Under the martial, the military takes control of an area and replaces civilian authorities” (The American Vision 344). Citizens could be arrested and held without trial if they supported secession. Kentucky was torn between secession or not, so they declared themselves neutral. As long as the Confederacy left the territory alone, Lincoln promised he would too. Obviously that did not last long because Confederate forces eventually occupied a corner of the state, which caused the Union troops to also move in. Kentucky was angered by the Confederacy invading them, so they “now voted to go to war against the Confederacy” (The American Vision
345).
Ultimately, there was going to be a war no matter what. The nation was split in half due to one main cause: slavery. All of the events that led to the Civil War stemmed from slavery, such as John Brown’s raid, the secession of states and the attack of Fort Sumter. Most of the time something is gained from unpleasant events. In this case, “slavery was outlawed in the United States, Southern states rebuilt their economy, African Americans gained citizenship and voting rights,” and lastly, the U.S. passed their first civil rights laws (The American Vision 345).
What events led the United States into civil war? There are many factors that lead into the beginning of the Civil War, but most of the disagreements arose from one problem: slavery. During this time, the nation was split into two: half of which supported slavery, and the other strongly against it. The Northerners were strongly against slavery while the Southerners supported it. Not only are there many causes of the Civil War; there were also many effects that emerged from the war (The American Vision 345).
One big turning point for the South was John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry. During John Brown’s raid, he brought together 18 followers and seized the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry; he believed, as one minister once …show more content…
told him, “that God had raised him up on purpose to break the jaws of the wicked” (The American Vision 337). John had a plan that he would start a rebellion after freeing and arming enslaved people. Southerners had long feared an uprising of African Americans and were angered that Northerners would attempt to arm enslaved people as well as encourage them to rebel. Even though the Republicans condemned Brown’s raid, Southerners still put the blame on the Republicans; mainly because they both opposed slavery. One Atlanta newspaper stated, “We regard every man who does not boldly declare that he believes African slavery to be a social, moral, and political blessing as an enemy to the institutions of the South” (The American Vision 341). John Brown’s raid angered many Southerners, which eventually contributed to the Civil War (The American Vision 337, 340-341).
In 1860, the Democratic Party was torn due to the debate over slavery in the western territories. In the North, the delegates wanted to support popular sovereignty, but the “Southern delegates wanted the party to uphold the Dred Scott decision and endorse a federal slave code for the territories” (The American Vision 341). The Dred Scott decision stated that slaves were property, not a citizen. After the split between the Democratic Party, Republican prospects greatly improved. Many of the radical Southern delegates intended for this to happen; they hoped this would be the turning point that lead to secession among the Southern states (The American Vision 341, 1080).
There were four main candidates in the election of 1860: Abraham Lincoln: who was for the Republican Party, Stephen Douglas: who was for the Northern Democrats, John C. Breckinridge: who was for the Southern Democrats, and John Bell: who was for a new party, the Constitutional Union Party, that was created due to the alarming danger of the Union. The Republicans knew there was no possible way of getting votes in the South, so they “needed a candidate who could sweep the North” (The American Vision 341). They decided on choosing Abraham Lincoln because he was very popular in the North due to debates with Douglas. During this time, Republicans tried convincing voters that they were not just an antislavery party; they condemned John Brown’s raid and “reaffirmed the right of the Southern states to preserve slavery within their borders” (The American Vision 341-342). With the Democratic votes were split between Douglas and Breckinridge, Lincoln ended up winning with an astonishing 180 electoral votes and no support from the Southerners. The election of a Republican president had Southerners feeling as though their culture and society was at risk, so they had no other option but to secede (The American Vision 341-342).
South Carolina was the first state to secede, which means “to leave or withdraw” (The American Vision 342). “By February 1, 1861, six more states in the Lower South- Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas- had voted to secede” (The American Vision 342). The Southerners had a belief that “secession was in the Revolutionary tradition and that they were fighting for American rights” (The American Vision 342). As the Lower South continued to secede, Congress tried to create a compromise to save the Union. There was only one problem: the South ignored Congress and the secessionists began to seize all of the federal property in their states. There were very few forts that remained to the Union, including: Fort Sumter, Fort Pickens, and a few others off of Florida's coast. Although this terrified the Northerners, they still attempted to compromise. With this being said, John J. Crittenden submitted numerous amendments to the Constitution; one being slavery guaranteed where it already exists, another would reinstate the Missouri Compromise line, expanding it to California's border. The Missouri Compromise was “an effort by the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives to maintain a balance of power between the slaveholding states and free states” (“Missouri Compromise”). Slavery would be not be allowed in the Northern states, but would be protected in the Southern states. However, Lincoln asked them to stay strong in the fight, and Crittenden’s Compromise was not passed (The American Vision 342-343).
Eventually, Virginia held a peace conference; at this time, they were in the Union but also a slave state. The main attendance came from the Northern and border states; none attended from the secessionist states. The delegates continued to meet for three weeks but failed to come up with anything new; the only thing that came about them was a modified version of Crittenden’s Compromise. After this idea was brought to Congress, it was rejected. While the delegates meet at the peace conference, the delegates from the seceding states had their own meeting. They soon became known as the Confederacy, “...in early February, they declared themselves to be a new nation- the Confederate States of America- or the Confederacy, as it became known” (The American Vision 343). At their convention, they drafted their own constitution- based mainly from the U.S. Constitution- but with some major changes. One of which “declares that each state was independent and guaranteed the existence of slavery in Confederate territory” (The American Vision 343). Following that, they “banned protective tariffs and limited the presidency to a single six-year term” (The American Vision 343). During the convention, they chose Jefferson Davis as the president of the Confederacy; he also happened to be a former Mississippi senator. While giving his inaugural speech, he stated, “The time for compromise had now passed. The South is determined to… make all who oppose her smell Southern powder and feel Southern steel” (The American Vision 343).
In April, it was announced that Fort Sumter was intended to be resupplied.
Lincoln warned the Confederacy of the shipment, and they knew that a war with the U.S. would begin if they fired at the supply ship. As president of the Confederacy, Davis chose to act before the supply ship arrived and take over Fort Sumter. Peace might be preserved if all goes as planned. A note was delivered to Major Robert Anderson demanding the surrender of Fort Sumter by April 12, 1861. The time came and passed and cannons were fired; for 33 hours, Confederates attacked Fort Sumter, consequently “wrecking the fort but killing no one” (The American Vision 344). The destruction continued until Anderson and his men finally surrendered. This was the beginning of what we now know as the Civil War (The American Vision 343-344). Many more states began to secede, and Lincoln was set on keeping the “slaveholding border states from seceding” (The American Vision 344). Washington would be completely surrounded by Confederate territory if Maryland decided to secede. Lincoln tried to prevent Maryland from seceding by imposing the martial law in Baltimore. “Under the martial, the military takes control of an area and replaces civilian authorities” (The American Vision 344). Citizens could be arrested and held without trial if they supported secession. Kentucky was torn between secession or not, so they declared themselves neutral. As long as the Confederacy left the territory alone, Lincoln promised he would too. Obviously that did not last long because Confederate forces eventually occupied a corner of the state, which caused the Union troops to also move in. Kentucky was angered by the Confederacy invading them, so they “now voted to go to war against the Confederacy” (The American Vision
345).
Ultimately, there was going to be a war no matter what. The nation was split in half due to one main cause: slavery. All of the events that led to the Civil War stemmed from slavery, such as John Brown’s raid, the secession of states and the attack of Fort Sumter. Most of the time something is gained from unpleasant events. In this case, “slavery was outlawed in the United States, Southern states rebuilt their economy, African Americans gained citizenship and voting rights,” and lastly, the U.S. passed their first civil rights laws (The American Vision 345).