War Turning Point

The American Civil War was a complete turning point in the history of the United States, as it called for a complete change in the everyday lives of many Americans. From the first colony in America to the abolition of slavery, America has allowed conflicting viewpoints to fail and succeed. By analyzing America’s past, it can be found that slavery was the underlying cause of the Civil War.

Virginia was the first British colony founded on American soil in 1607, which forced many colonists to make harsh survival decisions to benefit themselves as well as the colony. The main issue that plagued the colony of Virginia was the freedmen, people who had previously been held under indentured servitude, who were homeless due to their moving to the Americas
Texas had broken off from Mexico following a battle for independence that resulted in Texas gaining its freedom. When Texans originally wanted to become a part of the United States, President Andrew Jackson was unwilling due to the problems associated with allowing Texas into America. One issue was slavery, as Jackson attempted to keep the distribution of slavery equal throughout America. Another issue was starting a war with Mexico, which occurred after Texas was admitted into the United States by Congress. The addition of Texas led to the Mexican war over land between Mexico and Texas, which both claimed to own. At the time, President James Polk was willing to go to war with Mexico and eventually led America to victory under his presidency. Along with winning the Mexican War, America gained territory West of the original states, which allowed for the expansion of America, as well as slavery. Once America gained this territory, issues around slavery began reoccurring, leading to the creation of the Kansas-Nebraska Act that would allow Kansas and Nebraska to choose whether to be slave or free states. This Act was able to bring the nation together under two political parties, Republican and Democratic, while dividing the nation between the different views people had on slavery. The division between the Republicans and Democrats of America eventually led to the start of the Civil
Before President Abraham Lincoln could be sworn into office after winning the election of 1860, North Carolina, along with other Southern states, had announced their succession from the union of the United States. This succession was fueled by the Southerners' objection to the Constitution and its core values. Lincoln’s Apple Gold notes give an understanding of the importance of the Constitution in relation to the Declaration of Independence, specifically that one cannot be understood without the other. Northerners, who consisted mostly of abolitionists, chose to view these documents like Lincoln, which allowed them to fully understand the ideas of both. When both documents are viewed together, it becomes understood that slavery is unconstitutional, and Northerners used this to combat Southern views. In contrast, some pro-slavery advocates attempted to justify slavery using the Constitution, but they failed to acknowledge that the Declaration of Independence calls for the equality of all men. Nothing in the Declaration specifies the importance of one type of man over another, even though some pro-slavery Southerners tried to make it seem that way. Another pro-slavery view, that was held by the Confederate States of America, was that the United States Constitution was wrong for not including racism, which shows the lack of understanding that some Southerners had for this document. These opposing