ipl-logo

Civil War Dbq Essay

880 Words4 Pages

The Civil War, beginning in April of 1861 and ending in April of 1865 was one of the most controversial and yet influential battles in American history, but what started it is even more controversial. Leading up to the beginning of the civil war, many southern states began to succeed.. This meant that a lot of them withdrew from the federal union voluntarily. The southern states seceding sparked the beginning of the civil war. As the documents entitled Declaration of Causes of Seceding States, 1861: South Carolina, Senator John C. Calhoun (D-SC) "Slavery a Positive Good" and Senator James Henry Hammond (D-SC), speech to congress March 4,1858, further explain hope the suicessuons of many southern states caused the beginning of the civil war. …show more content…

This feeling of unhappiness stemmed from the government's perceived favoritism towards Northern states' interests. Document 2, Declaration of Causes of Seceding States, 1861: South Carolina, shows their letter of withdrawal from the federal union."But in deference to the opinions and wishes of the other slaveholding states, she forbored at that time to exercise this right"(document 2). To better explain, it touches upon how many seceding states wanted to keep slavery. Another example of how South Carolina felt that their rights were not being protected is shown in document entitled Senator John C. Calhoun (D-SC) "Slavery a Positive Good". “The former may now be controlled, but in a short time it will be beyond the power of man to arrest the course of events. We of the South will not, cannot, surrender our institutions”(document 3). This puts into detail how the union may be able to keep things within control, but that it can only last a short time before situations fall out of hand. Therefore, South Carolina's secession marked the beginning of a series of events that would ultimately lead to the beginning of a long …show more content…

The state worried that their economy, heavily dependent on the institution of slavery, would be at risk should the federal government seek further restrictions. It states in the document titled Senator John C. Calhoun (D-SC) "Slavery a Positive Good", "If left to themselves, we must finally become two people. It is impossible Under the deadly hatred which must spring up between the two great nations, if the present causes are permitted to operate unchecked, that we should continue under the same political system"(document 3). Many of the southern states believed that if slavery was taken away then there was no way that they could live together in a world without rank, especially South Carolina."I hold that in the present state of civilization, where two races of different origin, and distinguished by color, and other physical differences, as well as intellectual, are brought together, the relation now existing in the slave holding States between two, is, instead of an evil, a good - a positive good"(document 3). Along with the belief that states had the right to determine their own laws regarding slavery, This fear contributed to the tensions that ultimately led to the Civil

Show More
Related

  • How Did South African Americans Change South Carolina

    818 Words  | 4 Pages

    South Carolina 1860 South Carolina had long been a catalyst for, and a symbol of, Southern dreams of a bold new future and an independent new confederacy as well as Northern nightmares of the American experiment gone awry. Most white South Carolinians believed that their economic prosperity, political interest, and social stability were inextricable tied to state rights, the organization of subjugation, and the manor framework as it had advanced subsequent to the frontier period. It is a commonplace of American history that South Carolina leaders did not always, in the first decades of the Union, defend the extreme state rights doctrines which John C. Calhoun so ably expounded later in the antebellum period. In the convention of 1787 South

    Read More

  • Civil War Dbq

    1266 Words  | 6 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Nullification Dbq Essay

    1345 Words  | 6 Pages

    (Stephens,1861) states “Our new government is founded upon exactly the opposite idea; its foundations are laid, its corner-stone rests upon the great truth, that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery — subordination to the superior race — is his natural and normal condition.” He stated that the fundamental principle of the Confederacy was the belief in the superiority of the white race and the institution of slavery. Stephens believed that secession was justified and necessary, considering he saw it as a means to protect and preserve the institution of slavery, which he viewed as essential to the Southern way of life. He argued that secession was a response to perceived threats to the Southern economy and social order and that forming a separate nation would allow the Confederacy to uphold its principles as well as safeguard its interests.

    Read More

  • Main Causes Of Trailing Up To The Civil War

    839 Words  | 4 Pages

    There was a huge difference in economies between the North and the South. The South relied heavily on slaves to keep up their economy and the North were more diverse. In document A it shows a map of where the railroads where and where slaves lived. The North had plentiful amounts of railroads and the South had few, but the South had all the slaves were as the North had none. If the slaves were to be outlawed the South’s economy would take a huge hit and the North would be fine.

    Read More

  • Stephen Douglas Argumentative Analysis

    777 Words  | 4 Pages

    Politically, the South believed that they didn’t have enough power in the government with the Northwest Ordinance, Missouri Compromise, and California statehood. Calhoun claimed that the “many aggressions against the South had destroyed the equilibrium.” The South also believed in the infringement of states’ rights, as Robert Rhett put it, “as an agent of the states, the federal government could not discriminate against the citizens of any state.” They believed that the government had no right to ban slavery anywhere. The American colonists experienced a more extreme version of lack of political rights and power.

    Read More

  • What Was Andrew Jackson's Accomplishments

    1504 Words  | 7 Pages

    John C. Calhoun, a south carolina man himself, believed that his state should be allowed to nullify a tariff if said tariff was in his state's best interest. Jackson disagreed and eventually the conflict reached a terminal mass. South Carolina threatened the ceede from the Union, and Jackson responded by threatening military action against the state through the Force bill. At long last, South Carolina backed down and rescinded its threat of secession. Such an event wouldn’t take place until the eventual break from the Union by 9 southern states during the 1860s.

    Read More

  • Why White Southerners Want To Secede Essay

    704 Words  | 3 Pages

    This fearfulness led to the secession of the South and the creation of the Confederacy. The biggest and most notable source of fear that white southerners possessed was

    Read More

  • Civil War Dbq

    1475 Words  | 6 Pages

    This document written by the government of South Carolina is justifying their succession from the Union. Their reasoning was that the northern states have denied the rights of property which were established in the United States Constitution. The government of South Carolina viewed Lincoln as a threat to slavery, this is evident when they said “ … All the states north of that line have united in the election of a man to the high office of President of the United States whose opinions and purposes are hostile to slavery.” (Doc 7). This also shows extremism as South Carolina did secede from the union, justifying it.

    Read More

  • How Did Slavery Cause Secession

    1451 Words  | 6 Pages

    ‘Slavery was the root cause of secession’. ‘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 .

    Read More

  • Slavery: The Role Of Secession In The United States

    487 Words  | 2 Pages

    As the United States of America developed as a country, the North and the South started differing in their economies, culture, and lifestyle. This created many problems for the United States because the South did not agree on the North 's views. In fact, the South was so different that they considered forming their own country. The South desired to preserve the institution of slavery, the principle of States’ Rights, and that all states in Confederacy issued an Article of Secession to break from the Union. One factor that led the South wanting to secede from the Union was that the South wanted to preserve slavery.

    Read More

  • Civil War Summary And Analysis

    524 Words  | 3 Pages

    The southern state where left with two choices: either return to the Union or face civil

    Read More

  • Why Is South Carolina Seceded

    532 Words  | 3 Pages

    The convention will encourage Charleston to draft a law of secession. They will announce that the Ordinance of Secession will be enforced on December 20. Soon after, South Carolina will become the first slave state in the south to declare that it had seceded from the United States. However, the northern regions seems to believe that our declaration of secession was a result of the refusal of free states to enforce the Fugitive Slave Acts. After realizing this act in the Declaration, we realized that the United States Constitution failed to establish each State as an equal in the Union, with separate control over its own institutions, such as the right of property in slaves.

    Read More

  • Summary Of John C Calhoun Slavery A Positive Good

    687 Words  | 3 Pages

    As the Union was on the brink of a great conflict, a number of individuals held heightened influence over the people’s thoughts and actions. John C. Calhoun became a prominent figure in the Southern cause. While his political thoughts did not desire the splitting of the South from the Union, his speeches seemed to provide no clear way out of this conflict. However, in one of his most notable speeches, know as “Slavery a Positive Good,” Calhoun established a firm view on the necessity of slavery in the Union and worked to become a “moral” based voice for the Southern cause. His “Slavery a Positive Good” speech began to justify the concept of slavery as a universally beneficial cause, turn the Southern focus towards the inevitability of war, and ultimately flipped the evil title from the South to the North.

    Read More

  • The Role Of Pride In The Civil War

    307 Words  | 2 Pages

    With expanding the union came disunion. The states began to feud about the expansion of slavery. This quote from John C. Calhoun captures the mind frames of the time. “ I have, Senators, believed from the first that the agitation of the subject of slavery would, if not prevented by some timely effective measure, end in disunion… the agitation has been permitted to proceed… until it has reached a period when it can no longer be disguised or denied that the Union is in danger. You have thus had forced upon you the greatest and gravest question that can ever come under your consideration: How can the Union be preserved?”

    Read More

  • John C Calhoun Civil Compromise Analysis

    1251 Words  | 6 Pages

    Henry Clay’s speech on February 6, 1850, describes the great accomplishments of the United States and the necessity to resolve the territorial issue that threats to cause Civil War. He touches on the prosperity of the nation and its immense growth

    Read More

More about Civil War Dbq Essay

Open Document