How Slavery Led To The Civil War

Slavery was one of the biggest controversies in the United States for many years and many amendments and compromises were made because of it. It began with 3/5ths compromise of 1776 which declared all slaves were equivalent to 3/5th of a man. Then it progressed to the Compromise of 1850, which included 5 bills and admitted California to the United States as a free state, demonstrating how hard it was to please both sides. Next came the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, otherwise known as Bleeding Kansas, a mini civil war regarding whether Kansas would be a free or slave state. These events along with many others began to create a large divide between north and south, ultimately leading to the biggest event of all, the Civil War which started in 1861.

Slavery is the act of owning people and giving them nothing but restricted freedom and exhausting laborious jobs. Most of the slave states were in the South, including Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Maryland, and Delaware. The free states were in the North including California, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin. It was determined if a state would own slaves or not through the Missouri Compromise, most of the slave states justified their need for slaves because or the amount of work that had to be done in

Slavery in america began in the 17th century in Virginia. Slaves were being transported to america through the triangular trade. The triangular trade was a process in which africans were captured and traded for rum and other goods from england to africa. Slaves were packed in an unsanitary and crowded ship, they were treated poorly. The 18th century was the busiest period for the slave trade. More than 6 million africans were enslaved and transported to the new world. Document C illustrates how slavery spread throughout the united states, document c also shows that slavery in the north had decreased, it was mostly due to the fact that they were industrializing and they didn’t need slaves. The south, however used slaves because they were agricultural. they produced a lot of cotton, and many other cash crops and needed slaves to work their farms.

There were many things that led to the Civil War. They were slavery, politics, and state right versus the federal government, expansionism, sectionalism, and economics. Historians argue over what the main cause really was that led to the Civil War since no one can really say for sure what it was. Slavery was the main cause of the Civil War.

Thomas Jefferson had written a letter to senator John Holmes of maine, the letter that Thmas Jefferson wrote were about his fears of slaverys conflict would grow bigger and bring upon them a civil war. In the north abolitionist power grew more while in the south the people wanted to protect the institution of slavery. The united states had 11 slave states and 11 free states at the time but began to wonder if slavery should be allowed to expand in the land they had bought through the Louisiana purchase. Later on missouri wanted to join the union as a slave state which had began to cause some conflict so they had decided to set a precedent for the future states that would be in the land of the louisiana

Abolitionist writer George William Curtis, once wrote, "We are not one people. We are two peoples. We are a people for Freedom and a people for Slavery. Between the two, conflict is inevitable." This quote shows the major conflict of this time period. Tensions between The North and The South had escalated due to a big issue, slavery. This conflict will lead to America`s bloodiest conflict, the Civil War. Slavery became the issue that spilt the United States, causing secession and the Civil War because of the admission of new states, legislation such as the Kansas- Nebraska Act, the nomination and debates of Abraham Lincoln, and the Election of 1860.

Slavery in America began when the first bunch of African slaves were brought to North America in 1619. They settled in Jamestown, Virginia to assist in the production of economy enhancing crops. Initially, the concept of this form of slavery was servitude, slaves were either sent back to Africa or allowed to own land. Europeans recommenced quests to Africa in search of gold. This is when they

Slavery in the United States of America started in British North America during the early colonial days of European settlement on the continent. By 1800, a few northern states had abolished (gotten rid of) slavery. Abolitionism continued to spread throughout the North in the decades that followed. At the same time, southern states saw a rapid expansion of the cotton industry by using slaves as unpaid labor on cotton plantations. By 1860, there were 15 slave states in the South. 400,000 families in these states had slaves in their households. Southern states were threatening to leave the United States in order to protect their growing cotton industry and retain the ability to have slaves.

When President Lincoln first called for troops to put down the confederate rebellion, he made no connection between this action and an attempt to end slavery. In fact, he explicitly stated "the utmost care will be observed to avoid any devastation, any destruction of, or interference with, property..." At this point, slavery was not yet integral to the struggle, it was much more important for the Union to air on the side of political prudence and avoid angering loyal boarder states. However, despite this lack of political dialogue, many abolitionists, slaves, and free blacks felt the war to preserve the union could also be a war to end slavery. In the end, they were right, as military need overwhelmed potential political dangers, slaves

Throughout the 1800s in America, slavery was a controversy between the north and the south. A Slave was one who was the property of another human being under law and was forced to obey them. The North felt that slavery was unfair and inhumane, whereas in the South, they felt as though slavery was crucial to their success. African American slaves were not allowed many rights: they were not allowed to testify in court against a white person, could not receive an education, or even sign contracts. Due to the brutality they faced each day, many slaves escaped with hopes to find freedom. The Underground Railroad, a system utilized by many runaway slaves to help them escape from the South to Canada, played a large role in the downfall of slavery and eventual abolition in the United States following the Civil War.

While it is certainly simple to attribute the start of the Civil War solely on the issue of slavery, the issues run much deeper. Even though slavery is one of the underlying causes of the American Civil War, issues regarding political and economic differences are also to blame for the start of the war. However, many of these problems that caused the country to split had their roots in the problem of slavery.

Slavery existed heavily in the South by the 1700’s. What started out with indentured servants, quickly but slowly, became slavery in a more brutal and disheartening way. European colonists turned to slavery because for every one indentured servant there were 17 slaves. (Chapter 2, page 46) This made it easier for European colonists to be able to replace slaves rather than waiting for indentured servants. Also, during Bacon’s Rebellion, Europeans quickly learned that servants were dangerous, because they had a right to fight back. Servants expected to be free within seven years in exchange for working the Europeans land. This also created the image that slaves would be easier to control simply because they had nothing to look forward to, once a slave always a slave. Once the Virginia slave law came out, it initially separated blacks and whites by skin color thus beginning the road to the new definition of “race.” In the south, slavery was in higher demand due to the increase of land to grow crops, indigo and tobacco. The more land you had, the more slaves you needed to pick and grow these crops which increased your money value.

The question of slavery and the rights of states to decide on the matter for themselves completely controlled politics in the years prior to the Civil War. Laws were passed, such as the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, which made it so any slaves that escaped were to be sent back to their owners. Not only would these runaway slaves be punished severely, but anybody who aided them in escape would also be subject to harsh punishment. These desperate men, women, and children had no protection in the legal system and were left with no options in life other than escape. Many of these escapees had to watch friends and family be beaten, sold, or even killed and were expected to work just as hard, like nothing had happened. After losing everything, it

The American Civil War occurred between April 12, 1861, and May 9, 1865, and began due to the long-standing controversy of slavery in the country. Shortly after Abraham Lincoln took office, Confederates attacked Fort Sumter in South Carolina, and among the 34 U.S. states seven Southern slave states succeeded from the United States. More states seceded and the Confederacy grew up to eleven slave states. This split the country between the Union in the Northern states, and the Confederate States of America in the Southern states. One big disagreement many Americans have today is whether slaves rights was the cause of the Civil War or not. Charles B. Dew believes the Civil War was fought over slavery, using speeches and public letters of 41 white southerners who were commissioners and appealed to their audience the ideas of the preservation of slavery and white supremacy as his evidence. Gary W. Gallagher believes that the Civil War was not fought over slavery, and the main goal for Northerners was to preserve the Union, using letters of white Northern soldiers that do not show much concern for black people as his evidence. Frederick Douglass’s statement, “The cry of Free Men was raised, not for the extension of liberty to the black man, but for the protection of the liberty of the white” is valid because the Civil War was not fought for the equality of black people, African Americans were treated very poorly after the Civil War and the emancipation proclamation was passed for

In 1619 the first African American slaves were brought to the US to partake in unorthodox labor given by the white man. Slavery was abolished on February 1, 1865, by President Abraham Lincoln. The abolishment of slavery is currently known as the 13th amendment. For more than 200 years black people suffered from heinous decisions made by white men who felt they were superior. Slavery has caused many African Americans to suffer substantially during segregated times with illiteracy, broken families, and unpaid workforce.