The Civil War is the bloodiest battle in American History. Some people would like to think that if things were done differently beforehand that the outcome would be less detrimental. I like to think it all played out in a certain way for a reason. Many of the preceding events had a great influence on the war itself. Moreover, the most impactful conflicts prior to the war consist of the Compromise of 1850, the raid on Harpers Ferry, and the Battle of Fort Sumter. Despite all of the sectional conflicts taking place within the U.S., the Compromise of 1850 brought a new light onto the situation of slavery. It proposed that California would be a free state, but other new territories would have no limits on slavery. In addition, the slave trade, but not slavery itself, would be banned in Washington D.C. The originator of this compromise, Henry Clay, also pushed for a stronger fugitive slave law. This resulted in the Fugitive Slave Act, enforcing that anyone who helped a fugitive could be fined or imprisoned. Consequently, this started conflict with the North, whose juries refused to convict people accused of breaking the new law. Free African Americans and white formed an …show more content…
His target was a federal arsenal and hoped to arm enslaved African Americans. This act of violence alarmed the south and added to their fears of the Republicans. All of the men fighting with Brown wanted to start a revolt against slaveholders. Local citizens and federal troops were able to defeat Brown’s raid, but this didn’t prevent southerners from feeling threatened by abolitionists. Brown was eventually convicted of treason and murder, and was hanged for his actions. Even so, many antislavery Northerners saw him as a martyr. Following the death that shook the North, the South’s fears of a great Northern conspiracy against them were confirmed. The Nation was just steps away from complete
Meeting A Need In 1850, congress passed the Fugitive Slave Act. This act gave slave masters the right to call on federal, state, and local law enforcement to return runaway slaves. The act, “Permitted for the seizure and return of runaway slaves who escaped from one state and fled into another” (Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d.). This act was frequently misused by slave owners in the 50s.
They’re two parts in the compromise that would help the South, and the North. The Fugitive Slave Act was passed part of the compromise of 1850. The Fugitive Slave act helped the South because a slave couldn’t just escape to the North to be free, now they would have to go to Canada to be free. Anyone in the North who saw a runaway slave would be forced to return the slave to its owner, and if they didn’t, then they would be fined up to $1,000, and then be forced to bring back the slave anyways. The North did get something from the compromise as well, California would be admitted as a free state, and the South couldn’t get anymore slaves from outside the
For those who let fugitive slaves escape would be fined $1,000 (SOURCE). This was huge because this law enraged many of the northerns whom were
Even though he appeared to fail at Harpers Ferry, he actually won a strategic victory for abolitionism. This was because he handled his jail time and trial expertly. Before his trial, he authored about 100 letters that he sent to family members, editors, and newspapers all around the country (Blight, “The Election of 1860 and the Secession Crisis”). This helped turn his raid into a news sensation. He knew that if he could get the attention of newspapers across the nation, he would ultimately gain the sympathy of many northerners.
Throughout the course of the Civil War, Southerner’s felt as if the North was impending upon state’s rights and their way of life, which was based on slavery, was put at risk by the Union . At different points in the war, Southerners felt that the Union posed a bigger threat than before, especially after Abraham Lincoln gave the Emancipation Proclamation speech. The Civil War was not only fought by free Americans, but as times changed, enslaved people also took up arms alongside the Union and fought the Confederacy. The inevitable Civil War resulted in the South’s demise and them rejoining the Union. When the Southern States began to secede, they felt as if the Union and Northern Democratic party we’re threatening the lifestyle they had grown so used to.
Student’s Name Professor’s Name Course Date Did the United States at the end of the Civil War represent the culmination of the Revolution or betrayal of the Revolution or an entirely different type of nation than one could have imagined at the Revolution? Introduction The Civil War that took place in the United States of America is an etched in people’s mind and experience in nation’s historical consciousness.
The Civil War Who won the Civil War? The Union Army won the Civil War which was proven when the Confederacy rejoined the Union and abolished slavery. The Civil War was a period in American history from April 1861 to April 1865. During the duration of the war, it is estimated that over 700,000 people lost their lives. The United States was divided over the idea of slavery.
The Civil War was many battles all together that caused extreme changes. The Battle of Gettysburg, for example, was the bloodiest battle in the Civil War with over 50,000 casualties. The Gettysburg Address was a speech said by Lincoln which stated the battle of Gettysburg and many things he wanted for the country. The Civil War was in the middle of when women didn’t have rights` in the country. Slavery was also the reason for the start of the Civil War .
They were inspired to fight for this cause because of John Brown's actions. During his trial, John Brown chose to die for slavery rather than plead insanity and live. He inspired many people of his cause, and many northerners saw him in a new way. No longer was he just a violent murderer, but a devoted abolitionist with a firm belief that slavery should end. On his hanging day, the South was glad of his death.
During the Civil War, families were torn apart and left to fend for themselves. The citizens had to hold the responsibility of supporting themselves and their military strength. Citizens did their best to keep soldiers up for the fight. The citizens would determine the outcome of the Civil War. Citizens funded their soldiers so that the war would end.
The North saw him as a flawed-filled hero in history, while the South viewed him as the reason for the Black Republican, and the Republican Party winning in the following year’s election. The south was so infuriated that Senator Jefferson Davis said that the contender for the 1860 Republican Party presidency should have been hanged right along with Brown. Mr. Seward’s political popularity sank, but that didn’t worry the Republicans one bit. Abraham Lincoln was also running for presidency for the 1860 elections. Brown made Lincoln surely to win the nomination for the President of 1860 by his actions he took in 1859.
The American Revolution was considered a revolution because there was a revolt that resulted in the restructuring of American government, society, and politics. Though not officially labeled as a revolution, the American Civil War that began in 1861 was revolutionary and should be regarded as the Second American Revolution. The Civil War drastically changed the social, economic, and political systems of the United States through the abolishment of slavery. The Civil War was fought between the North (Union) and the South (Confederacy) over the North’s proposition of abolishment and state’s rights.
It is arguable that Fugitive Slave Act decreased abolitionist activity because it provided incentive for Northerners to comply with it. Federal commissioners who determined whether a person was truly free or not was paid a double fee whenever they decided someone a fugitive. Not only that, but any Northerners caught helping blacks, runaway or not, faced the risk of a thousand dollar fine and up to a year in jail. But, as argued by historian Lincoln Austin Mullen, in his article Fugitive Slave Laws (1793 and 1850), “Northern reaction to the law was swift and angry.
Southerners were outraged to learn that prominent northern abolitionists had financially backed John Brown. This increased southern fear that the northern abolitionists could attempt greater revolutionary acts in an attempt to start a slave rebellion. The southerners feared Abraham Lincoln being elected in 1860 due in part to the Republican Party’s opposition to slavery extension
The Civil War was the bloodiest conflict ever on American soil. It was a complete bloodbath. There were 1,100,000 casualties. Also this war was a war fought for important rights that could end slavery. That right there makes this war one of the most important wars in American history.