1860's Slavery Issue

Geographically the United States was divided with the North being against slavery and the South supporting slavery. This division in the states had a great affect on the decision making in congress

The Reconstruction is the first thing I would talk about. I believe many people still have the impression that once slaves were freed in the South, that was it—all of a sudden everything was great for them, when in reality, they were essentially still slaves. I never knew about the black codes, vagrant laws, and sharecropping that took place in the South until this class. Slavery is covered as early as 7th grade, and I believe that the Reconstruction period following it is a significant enough event that it should be addressed sooner, perhaps in high school, so even those who choose to not attend college have the chance to hear about it.

Slavery was the driving force for most of the political controversies during the 19th century. Not only has slavery created political controversies in the United States, but throughout the world.The Fugitive Slave Acts, revolts, and a political argument indicating if slavery should be legalized are the main aspects that caused these disputes.

Slavery became a key issue in the arguments of the north and the south. The south was very agricultural while the north was industrial. The south feared the declaration of freedom for the slaves by government leaders in the north. Government officials at the time were not interested in ending Slavery in the slave states, but instead in keeping newly admitted states from becoming slave states. The first official disagreement of this came in 1820. By the end of 1819, there were eleven Free states and eleven slave states. In 1820 Maine and Missouri wanted to enter the union and Congress had to decide whether to admit them in as Free states or slave states. At the time, Missouri had about two thousand Slaves. An amendment was introduced in the House by James Tallmadge, a New York Representative to ban slavery in Missouri when the amendment was voted on and passed in the house. In the Senate where the amount of slave state representatives was equal to the amount of Free states, it became a tie. A heated battle started between the representatives from the Northern and Southern states following the Missouri Compromise.

Decisions made in the 1850s ultimately decided the United States fate. From the election of 1856 to the Dred Scott case, the nation would become divided into two. The South was pro-slavery and supported the idea of slavery expanded into western territories, while the North opposed of the idea and was mainly against expanding slavery. Until the 1850s the nation barely balanced the slavery issue.

The American Civil War was a period of internal conflict in the United States that took place from April 12, 1861 to May 13, 1865. The war divided the 34 states into two separate entities: the Union and The Confederacy. The Union was composed of the states that remained loyal to the U.S. Constitution and federal government, while the Confederate States of America seceded. Following Lincoln’s inaugural address in 1861, South Carolina became the first state to secede from the Union, quickly followed by the other states that would make up the Confederacy. The build up to the war, however, began long before. The first signs of conflict can be traced back to the writing of the three-fifths clause of the Constitution. Even today, nearly 150 years

‘November 6 1860, Lincoln was elected president of America which resulted in panic emerging in the South’ . The election of Lincoln as president who was a Republican leader meant that ideologies, movements and values from the North would be implemented in the South which meant the abolition of slavery. Slavery was a huge characteristic of the South as the economy; politics; social status and psychological mind-sets were influenced by the process of slavery. The southern white population then derived the idea of secession which meant the South would gain independence from Northern aggression . This essay will explore the reasons as to how and why secession occurred and whether slavery was the main

Throughout American History, slavery has always posed as a problem in the United States from 1776 to 1852. Slavery grew dramatically when the country acquired new territory as a result of foreign wars, like the Mexican War. Even though there are many reasons why there was a growing opposition to slavery in the United States from 1776 to 1852, the growing opposition of slavery was caused by the country gaining new land as a result of wars and events like the Compromise of 1850 and the Second- Great Awakening which led to the development of new books and newspaper articles.

The Southerners felt they had to secede from the Union for many reasons. They wanted to make their own Confederate government so they could do what they wanted. Like for instance, have control of slavery in their territories. The state South Carolina was the first to secede, on December 20, 1860, followed by Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina and Tennessee. According to those states, they all think slavery should be allowed in their region.

After the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 and the rise of the Republican party, Southerners feared the tipping of the balance of political power against them; their need for self-determination parallel the colonists’ belief of rebelling against the oppressive government of Great Britain. However, the Civil War represented something more: the clash of the feudalistic, agrarian South with the industrialized, capitalistic North. These two powers differed socially, politically, and economically, and were especially conflicted over slavery. These two sections of the United States were divided against one another, and could not survive this way. Therefore, it is more accurate to state that though the Civil War resembled some aspects of the American Revolution, it was a clash between two forces who could not exist with one another in their current state, leading inevitably to conflict between the

Between 1800 and 1860 two major things changed within the country. The cash crops changed from tobacco and rice to the new money maker cotton. Along with the crops changing the slave trade grew to replace the economic short fall in the Chesapeake area. These changed occurred due to the supply and demand of commonly bought goods. Another contributing factor for the crops changing was the invention of the cotton gin in 1793 and the use of cotton in textile facilities. Lastly, with the expansion of the country to the west and into what we now know as Texas drove the need for more slaves to work the land.

My sticky note, The Election of 1860, was a very important part and greatly influenced the start of the Civil War. The reason behind this statement is that many people in the south opposed Lincoln as becoming president. Southerners feared that slaves would revolt and did not have trust in Lincoln. Northerners liked what Lincoln had to offer and wanted him to become president.

After Lincoln was elected into office, many Southerners started to fear he was going to abolish slavery. Although Lincoln was opposed to slavery, he had no intention of ending it. In Lincoln’s final speech he said, “I will say then that I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races...say upon this occasion I do not perceive that because the white man is to have the superior position the negro should be denied everything.” (Lincoln, 1858) Lincoln thought that slavery was immoral but he wasn’t going to try abolish it. The Southerners were still afraid because they now had someone in power that was against the institution of slavery. The election of Abraham Lincoln was the breaking point for the South and a month later the South seceded on December 20, 1860 from the Union. This division would set up the Civil

Slavery was to ingrained in the culture and economy of the Southern states to be removed from the United States peacefully, and is the dominating reason for the outbreak of the US Civil War. The North and South had two extremely different cultures and economies. Therefore, it was only a matter of time until these two vastly different societies controlled by a single federal government, would clash. Slavery was the underlying reason for the secession of the South in December 1860. The Southern economy was too reliant on the use of slaves in their economy to abolish slavery. There was also conflict over whether two new states, Kansas and Nebraska would use slavery. State rights were also very important for the Southern states. They believed that

The main issue in America politics during the years of the late 1840 's to the late 1870 's was slavery. Southerners wanted to keep the tradition of slave labor alive, and were justifying slavery in any way possible. Slavery was an important economic phenomenon in the history of United States. It was a worthwhile economic aspect especially for those that were in power. Studies have been carried to establish this fact. It is approximated that a close to 4million slaves with an attached approximated value of between 3.1and 3.6 lived in the US during the period that was just before the civil war. Slavery was an important institution as masters drew from it