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The American civil war is one of the notable events in the United States’ history. There is much discussion about the events that led up to it, the contributions of the northern and southern states, its impact on African Americans, and how it finally abolished slavery.
This sample custom essay tackles the topic of slavery and explores how it led to the undeniable beginnings of the civil war.
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A Closer Look at the Road Leading to the American Civil War
The introduction of slavery traces all the way back to the 1500s when European settlers replicated their system of slavery when they came to America. While white settlers did not intentionally want to adopt the same system, they were unable to lower the costs of their own labor. This prompted them to depend on slaves from Africa who were imported to the country.
This continued all the way into the 1700s, a time when slavery became a common scenario and African slaves became a popular commodity. It was because of slave labor that plantations from the South profited greatly from using slaves to produce the most money-making crops: tobacco, indigo, rice, and other forest items. In fact, these African slaves were key to the prosperity of British North America.
By 1775, which was the starting point of the American Revolution, slavery was a common form of labor in all thirteen colonies. However, the opposition started brewing when some individuals called out the fact that the message of human equality in the Declaration of Independence was not consistent with the practice of slavery. Because of this, the Northern states responded by deciding to forego slavery after the Revolution.
Tension Between the Northern and Southern States
Opposition to slavery escalated during the launch of the United States Constitution in 1787, as the existence of slavery became even more hotly contested and those who stand to benefit from it were thrust into the spotlight. Slaveholders from the American South argued that slave labor was a crucial contributor to the nation’s wealth.
To appease a growing number of dissenters, the 3/5ths Compromise was formed, an agreement that entailed recognizing every five slaves in a state as three free people as a way of counting the population. This implied that the South, which had a smaller number of free whites, would have greater representation in Congress. A provision was also included in the Constitution for a fugitive slave act and determined 1807 as the earliest year that Congress could make a move to end slavery, particularly those imported from Africa.
While this was a commendable attempt to find some middle ground in the issue of slave labor, this did not really plug in all the holes in the discussion. One notable topic brought up was the status of any slave working in new territory.
True enough, it turned out that the issue was far from over when the cotton boom started in the early 1800s. Thanks to this phenomenon, the American South, which continued to employ African slaves, was more profitable than any and all other American exports combined.
The Northern states continued to oppose the use of African slaves as laborers this whole time. In fact, when Missouri was proposed to be recognized as one of the slave states, it triggered a nationwide slavery debate. Fortunately, the Missouri compromise came into play, which entailed that Maine would be recognized as one of the free states, simultaneous to Missouri becoming a slave state. This would imply a balance between both kinds of states.
While this once again appeased dissenters, it was only for a temporary period. By the 1830s, the voices of several abolitionists from the Northern states became loud and clear. They pushed to abolish slavery for good. Nat Turner’s Rebellion, also called the Southampton Insurrection, brought added fresh passion and energy into opposing slavery. The United States winning the Mexican war, which implied the acquisition of new territory in the West, further magnified the discussion of the future of all the slaves.
When Californian territory made the move to join the Union, the Compromise of 1850 was reached. The agreement meant that California would be recognized as a free state, that a more hardworking fugitive slave law would be enacted, that Congress would not get in the way of slave operations in the Southern states, and that labor in the form of slavery would not be allowed in the District of Columbia.
While this was a good attempt at keeping the peace, other areas that were acquired as a result of the victory over Mexico became a widely-contested issue, which led to the revocation of the Missouri compromise. In its place, the Kansas-Nebraska Act was set in motion, which intensified the conflict even more.
Eventually, the escalation of the slavery debate led to the formation of the Republican party in the Northern states in 1850. The key pursuit of the Republican party was to destroy slavery in all states. Understandably, such an end goal angered the Southern states. Such internal tension continued and intensified in 1857 when the United States Supreme court decided not to recognize Americans of African lineage as American citizens.
During the presidential election in 1860, the Democratic Party failed to be united in its stand on slavery, which led to the fielding of two candidates. On the other hand, the Republicans had Abraham Lincoln from Illinois represent their party. With the Northern states easily in his pocket, Abraham Lincoln was elected President – even despite failing to get votes from the Southern states.
Starting from South Carolina, six more confederate states from the Deep South namely Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Texas, and Louisiana exited the Union. They reached a consensus that limiting slavery is the first important move to finally ending this type of cheap labor.
At this point, Lincoln really wanted to keep the Union without any war breaking out. He made a decision to resupply the United States Army at Fort Sumter, which prompted the Confederate army to open fire. He then recruited 75,000 volunteers to join and help quell the swelling rebellion, triggering North Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Virginia to then become Confederate states. This was the turning point and the beginning of the Civil War.
FAQs
How did slavery cause the Civil War?
In a nutshell, the existence of slavery was an issue that no one could reach a decent compromise on. Arguments from all sides, the temptation of profiting from cheap labor, and unresolved differences between the free and slave states became widely-discussed hot topics. The solutions that were proposed and acted upon were but temporary fixes to a fast-escalating issue that had no other inevitable destination other than war.
What were the key elements that led to the Civil War?
While slavery was a big part of the emergence of the Civil War, other factors were in play, such as the meteoric rise of the cotton industry, the rights of the states, the expansion of America into other territories, Lincoln becoming President, and the exit of the South from the Union.