After Lincoln was killed, Andrew Jackson became president, and took the Ten-Percent Plan. Radical Republicans made it difficult for the Ten-Percent Plan because they called for “harsher measures, demanding a loyalty oath from 50 percent of each state’s voting population rather than just 10 percent,” (American Reconstruction, 2017). The President and the Congress agreed on only one point, and it was that the southern states needed to end slavery in their new state constitution before adding themselves back to the
As slavery slowly started to cease in the North, it became much more widespread in the South. For the slaveholders living in the South, the election of Abraham Lincoln came as a disappointment because he was against slavery. Southerners saw slavery as a necessity for the manufacturing of goods such as cotton, corn, other crops. The North, on the other hand, believed that slavery was immoral and went against the Constitution. The debates over this topic would soon be a major factor in the upcoming Civil War. The country would be impacted economically, geographically, and socially.
Slavery created division of United States, one side supported slavery and the other opposed. The Northern people didn’t need slaves due to the very little amount of agriculture they had, whereas in the South where they had much more agriculture, they felt they needed the slaves. I believe that the true separation between the North and South was in the people.
Prior to the American Civil War there were significant differences between the Northern and the Southern States in terms of social, economic and political preferences. The Industrial Revolution transported from Great Britain to the Northern States fueled this dichotomy. The society in the North was industrializing and urbanizing, creating a suitable environment for entrepreneurship and improved job opportunities. In addition, the enormous expansion of the railroad network, new means of communication and the politics of economic liberalization contributed to the formation of
The Southerners believed that this overpowering and hostility would lead to the destruction of the South, so they wanted to secede before any of that took place. According to Albert Gallatin Brown, a Mississippi politician, the North was “accumulating power and it meant to use that power to emancipate [the South’s] slaves” (Document 2). With the North having a large population and Lincoln being president of both the Union and the United States, the South believed that they would be overpowered and would have to give up slavery. Before Lincoln’s election, the North and South were already split because of controversy over slavery. When it was time for Republican Lincoln’s election, however, the North dominated the South because it had more territories and a larger population. According to Document 4, which are the results of the 1860 presidential election, Lincoln received 1,865,600 popular votes and 180 electoral votes, whereas Douglas received 1,382,700 popular votes and 12 electoral votes. Lincoln won because the North had a larger population than the South and made up the majority of his votes. As for Northern hostility toward the South, Jefferson Davis, the President of the Confederacy believed that “The Election was not the cause [of secession]”, but “sectional hostility manifested in hostile legislation by states and raids”
The North was industrial with a better and more reliable economy than the South. All the South had was cotton which was massed produced. Many areas that were used for cotton production also contained dense slave populations. (Document 1). Since both sections had a very diverse means of making income, they began to separate more as time passed. The North was producing about $1.5 billion in manufactured goods in 1861 compared to the South’s mere $155 million (Document 2). With the North producing about ten times more in value, the South became inferior and struggled for power. Also, all of the products in the North was made without any slaves at all, while the South relied on 3.5 million slaves to produce about five million bales of cotton that year. (Document 2). When the North threatened to take away slavery and the South’s livelihood, the South started to become agitated. In general, the South was forced to get all of its bare necessities from the North which included material for railroads, canals, and steamships (Document 3). The South could never survive without the North and the North knew this. In effect, the sections spread further apart causing sectionalism to expand between them. Eventually, the South got angry and attacked leaving no option for the North, but to retaliate back. The distinct economies of the North and South helped influence their
The United States of America was once severely divided over an extreme issue that needed to be quickly solved before it caused any serious damage on the country. The Northern part and the Southern part of the United States of America were both having intense arguments over the issue of slavery. The North deeply accepted the abolishment of slavery in the United States of America. However, the South was strongly supporting on the ability of having slaves anywhere in the United States of America. Before the American Civil War, the North had a immoral perspective on slavery and the South had a righteous outlook on slavery they had contrasting ideas. The reasons for the differences between them was their diverse economies, distinct views on ethics,
The North still continued the slavery after Lincoln’s announcement, so this incurred Southerners’ antipathy and they criticized the president. “Confederate newspapers labeled Abraham Lincoln a devil, and accused him of trying to destroy the South's way of life.” Since the South was boomed economically by cotton industry where most slaves worked, they knew if their slaves were freed, they would suffer. However, there was a way that the South could have retained their slaves. As mentioned in the previous paragraph, the goal of the president Lincoln was to unite the North and the South. His main goal was not to abolish slavery. According to the Emancipation Proclamation, he stated, “…all persons held as slaves within any state, or designated part of a state, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free…” This statement indicates that if the South had not been against the North, they could have retained their slaves. The decision that Lincoln issued might be a compulsive way to suppress the South, but if Southerners wanted to retain slavery, they should have followed the North rather than fighting. As Northerners and Southerners never agreed with each other, and it was a priority issue for the president to protect from the division of the nation, his decision was important as the most effective way to unite
In the early 19th Century, the United States were divided over the issue of slavery. The majority of northern states wanted to stop its expansion or even abolish it, while the southern states wanted the opposite, as slavery was the most important factor in the southern economy. Eventually, the country broke into civil war over the issue. The American Civil War was a direct result of the building tension between the North and South due to lack of compromise and the difficulty of interpretation of the United States Constitution.
McClellan could have effectively seized Richmond during the Seven Days’ Battle in 1862, the war perhaps would have ended in that year. The Union would then be reestablished with little damage to the South. Slavery would also in all probability have tolerated for an extent amount of time. However General Robert E. Lee won, causing the destiny of the war to change. It was now obvious that the war would only end when the South was completely demolished and when slavery was abolished. Lincoln did not want the Confederacy to be able to lose without being considerably harmed; he desired to take away slavery as a punishment for the South. Instead of being a war to preserve the union, the Civil War then turned into a total war to abolish
The North completely disagreed with slavery while the South were for slavery. This difference was a major one between the two factions that it just led to more differences in terms of which side was making profits, or which side was more successful. The Northerners would try to get rid of slavery while the Southerners would fight to keep slavery and this is mainly what started the Civil War. This author tells us about the partition that the two sides had was because of slavery and it got to the point where the South named themselves a whole different name apart from the United States of America, they were called the Confederate States of America. Another reason for the Civil War for not being prevented was that there were not only differences regarding the slaves but also because of the president of the time. This was due to the fact that the Abraham Lincoln was the one that was for ending slavery and making both the sides come together again. Abraham Lincoln was not for the difference between the United Stated because and did not want there to be a different country within the United
Numerous historians have voiced their opinions on the outcome of the American Civil War. The Union was successful for a number of reasons. First of all, they had a great number of men compared to the South. The North had approximately twenty-two million people during the war. (Farmer, 2005) The South only had nine million and of those, only about five and a half million were whites. (Farmer, 2005) The North had extreme advantages and could have easily defeated the South, but the South fought valiantly. Even though the South had a small number of men, they had an excellent military campaign. There were several things that the South could have done to change the outcome of the war. The Trent Affair is one example.
Some may say that Also, there were many northerners had slaves too. Slavery had been a State right for the southerners to have and they felt their right was violated. Slavery may have divided America but some may say slavery was not what caused the division and led to the Civil War. The South wanted power over their federal government so they could have the power to abolish federal laws they did not support. Southernern states’ rights struggle between federal government and individual stats over political power. Also, many southerners during the election were unhappy with Lincoln and wanted change. But the political powers of government were very focused on slavery. The South wanted control over the federal government so they had the power to regulate slavery. This drew a growing divide within the nation. The South relied on slave labor and was less industrialization, favored low tariffs, and opposed direct taxation. The North was an industrial economy that wanted high tariffs to protect and support industry, and wanted direct taxation. In the end they are different sides with different views for the
It was clear that during Lincoln’s presidency, the American political system had failed. The South wanted to cede from the Union, and this was only one of the problems going on during this period of time. The division between the North and the South was extremely prominent; they were both passive enemies. The South wanted the right to own slaves and induce slavery, while the North thought slavery was immoral and unjust while referring to the Constitution for argumentative backup.
In a three-day fight, an astonishing 51,000 soldiers were killed in total by both sides. The question is, was Gettysburg a turning point in the Civil War? Based on criteria from the Battle of Saratoga, did it influence foreign aid, support or prevent the major strategy to win the war, increase morale and efforts of one side over another, and change the adversary’s actions from that point forward? Generals Lee’s goal in the battle of Gettysburg was to draw the Union out in the open and out maneuver them with better leadership skills. In his arrogance, he thought that since he was a better general a difference of a few thousand men wouldn’t affect the outcome. But Confederate soldiers learned that there was a shoe factory nearby and since many of the men didn’t have shoes, the Confederate army headed for the factory. To their surprise, they ran into Union troops. It began as a skirmish, and then turned into a vicious three-day fight. The last charge by the Confederates was a desperate all-out attack on the Union troops on the third day of battle later known as Picket’s Charge by 12,000 men. The Confederate soldiers made a line over a mile wide and marched at the Union line. The Union guns then opened fire and gouged huge holes in the line demoralizing the Confederates. In just 50 minutes 10,000 soldiers were