What Are The Primary Causes Of The Civil War Dbq

In 1861 eleven southern states seceded from the United States and established their own nation, the Confederate States of America. From this moment onwards the issues between the Union and Confederates became serious. On April 12, 1861, the thirty-three states, Union, and Confederate, went to war. This Civil War lasted four long years. Ending on May 9, 1865, with approximately 620,000 deaths and thousands of casualties, the Civil War is to date the bloodiest war in the history of the United States. The effects of the Civil War are still present to this day. The primary causes of the civil war were the different opinions on slavery, the growing abolition movement, and the Dred Scott decision. As citizens grew angry the country became more divided.
Brown’s goal was to seize the federal weaponry, distribute arms to slaves in the area, and to start an uprising. The uprising did not occur, instead, ten of Brown’s men were killed and he was captured and charged with treason. On December 2, 1859, John Brown was hanged in front of a crowd. Brown’s death spurred a powerful public reaction. Many northerners saw him as a martyr, saying he sacrificed himself for the sake of freedom. Southerners were outraged as well, they assaulted whites who held anti-slavery views. John was both a hero and villain, he brought attention to the discrimination of African Americans and his sacrifice not be let down. Frederick Douglass was also a very significant abolitionist. In his speech “The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro” speech, delivered in New York, Douglass says “There is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices more shocking and bloody than are the people of the United States, at this very hour” (Doc 4). Douglass and other abolitionists argued that slavery was morally wrong and truly an evil act. Their anger was growing day by day. They were putting forth their best effort to end slavery in a nation that valued personal freedom and believed that “all men were created equal.” As the violence
As the US gained more territories the South wanted slavery to continue in those territories but the North disagreed. The North was able to establish factories and other businesses in the new land but the South couldn’t move into the new land because slavery was banned in some areas of the land and bringing their slaves into those areas would make the slaves free men. The South was afraid that with no slavery the balance of free and slave states would be destroyed. Both sides were fearful of what the future might bring. The distinct opinions of the North and South were never-ending. The states debated on this issue for a while until the South brought up secession. The North was outraged! They wanted to preserve the Union but the South wanted independence to make their own Confederation of States, with a new constitution. The debating continued until the Upper and Lower South seceded at last. South Carolina became the first state to secede on December 20, 1860. In all eleven states divided themselves from the Union. The secession made the northerners angry, they wanted a unified nation with an end to slavery. The withdrawn states were overjoyed, they made their own constitution, similar to that of the United States, and they, the Confederates, set up their own nation. In Abraham Lincoln’s speech after he accepted the Republican nomination, he said “A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government