The Civil War occurred as a result of decades and decades of fighting over certain issues such as the power of the south, slavery, state rights, and many other factors. By the time 1860 had approached, congress had exhausted all of its attempts at a compromise, and soon after, the south succeeded, marking the beginning stages of the Civil War. The factors that led up to this were nearly one hundred years in the making. Evidence of tension can already be seen during the formation of the Declaration of Independence with what is known as the 20 Years Compromise. The founding fathers essentially threw this issue under the rug because it seemed that no one could agree upon it at the time. Many events directly caused action as well. When Frederick Douglass wrote his autobiography revealing the atrocities taking place inside slave homes, the nation, particularly the north, would no longer stand for such action. This book, along with another one titled Uncle Tom's Cabin, started an abolitionist movement of people protesting slavery and demanding the freedom of all blacks in America. As made possible by networks such as the Underground Railroad, many slaves had began to escape from their masters and attempted to flee to the north. Because of this, two separate Fugitive Slave Acts were passed, one in 1793, and the second in 1850. The second, being enacted in the midst of another large compromise and among a large abolitionist movement caused quite the stir in an already heated mix. Having the remnants of this in their mind, an already hostile population was sent into rage with legal battles such as the Scott v Sanford and Plessy v Ferguson cases. An increasingly irritated south felt it best for the progression of their idea of the United States if they were to split from those who opposed their ideals so adamantly, and so in 1860 the south succeeded from the Union. Attacks on Fort Sumter were the only thing needed to take this debacle over the edge, and so in April of 1861, the United States had entered its own civil war.
Wednesday, March 18, 2015
Causes of the Civil War
The Civil War occurred as a result of decades and decades of fighting over certain issues such as the power of the south, slavery, state rights, and many other factors. By the time 1860 had approached, congress had exhausted all of its attempts at a compromise, and soon after, the south succeeded, marking the beginning stages of the Civil War. The factors that led up to this were nearly one hundred years in the making. Evidence of tension can already be seen during the formation of the Declaration of Independence with what is known as the 20 Years Compromise. The founding fathers essentially threw this issue under the rug because it seemed that no one could agree upon it at the time. Many events directly caused action as well. When Frederick Douglass wrote his autobiography revealing the atrocities taking place inside slave homes, the nation, particularly the north, would no longer stand for such action. This book, along with another one titled Uncle Tom's Cabin, started an abolitionist movement of people protesting slavery and demanding the freedom of all blacks in America. As made possible by networks such as the Underground Railroad, many slaves had began to escape from their masters and attempted to flee to the north. Because of this, two separate Fugitive Slave Acts were passed, one in 1793, and the second in 1850. The second, being enacted in the midst of another large compromise and among a large abolitionist movement caused quite the stir in an already heated mix. Having the remnants of this in their mind, an already hostile population was sent into rage with legal battles such as the Scott v Sanford and Plessy v Ferguson cases. An increasingly irritated south felt it best for the progression of their idea of the United States if they were to split from those who opposed their ideals so adamantly, and so in 1860 the south succeeded from the Union. Attacks on Fort Sumter were the only thing needed to take this debacle over the edge, and so in April of 1861, the United States had entered its own civil war.
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