The American Civil War was a result of the northern and southern having completely different views on states being able to rule themselves. The election of Abraham Lincoln led many southern states to secede from the Union. The South was strongly opposed to Lincoln and his policies. “Lincoln won not a single electoral vote in the South, and his Republican Party had vowed to prevent the extension of slavery.” 1 South Carolina was the first states to secede from the Union and gradually more and more southern states followed. Jefferson Davis emerged as the President of the Confederacy while Lincoln was President of the Union. As war broke out between the North and South, there were some key reasons why the North was able to defeat the South. The first reason was not all Southerners were willing to fight. The fact the southern state believed in their own popular sovereignty resulted them ignoring some of the first drafts in the South. “Because the Confederate constitution vested sovereignty in the individual states, the government in Richmond could not compel military service.” 2 The North was able able to fill their ranks much more quickly. One of the reasons the North was able to fill their ranks quicker was because they used incentives. 3 An example of this was the use of the Militia Act of 1862 which signed up nearly a million men through cash bounties. 4 Another reason the North was able to fill their ranks was because they recruited African American soldiers. “The (Emancipation) proclamation invited former slaves to serve in the Union army...” 5 This allowed the Union to fill the ranks they had lost from casualties. 6 The second reason that the North was able to win was the fact that they had “capable and determined generals.” 7 Lincoln finally found the general that he needed to command his troops in Ulysses S. Grant. Lincoln had the numbers in order to win and now he had the general to command them. Grant commanded his
Cited: Lincoln, A. (1861, March 4). 1st Inaugural Address. Retrieved August 9, 2012, from avalon.law.yale.edu: http://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/lincoln1.asp New!Re: Abraham Lincoln for the Republican Party SURAJ DHAKAL (Aug 10, 2012 7:00 AM) - Read by: 4Reply deborah henderson (Aug 12, 2012 12:26 AM) - Read by: 3Reply Ashley, Jordan Schraner (Aug 12, 2012 5:54 AM) - Read by: 4Reply I agree along with your post relating how the Republicans chose Lincoln because he believed in the equality of all the people, and also the end to spreading slavery in the new upcoming territories New!Re: Abraham Lincoln for the Republican Party Joseph Fick (Aug 12, 2012 9:53 PM) - Read by: 3Reply