The Killer Angels and Slavery

The American Civil War has caused many debates amongst a wide range of historians resulting in many different views being formed on all aspects of the War. The argument whether slavery has been overemphasised is one of great debate. Some historians like Michael F. Holt concur that the slavery issue was nearly the only reason and cause of the American civil war. Others disagree, Joel H. Silbey agrees that this is a reason but not the only one other ideas to need to be looked at to the cause of the outbreak of war in America. I will look at this issue and others which caused the beginning of the civil war.

The Civil War caused a shift in the ways that many Americans thought about slavery and race. Chandra Manning’s What this Cruel War Was Over helps readers understand how soldiers viewed slavery during the Civil War. The book is a narrative, which follows the life of Union soldier who is from Massachusetts. Chandra Manning used letters, diaries and regimental newspapers to gain an understanding of soldiers’ views of slavery. The main character, Charles Brewster has never encountered slaves. However, he believes that Negroes are inferior. He does not meet slaves until he enters the war in the southern states of Maryland and Virginia. Charles Brewster views the slaves first as contraband. He believes the slaves are a burden and should be sent back to their owners because of the fugitive slave laws. Union soldiers focus shifted before the end of the war. They believed slavery was cruel and inhumane, expressing strong desire to liberate the slaves. As the war progresses, soldiers view slaves and slavery in a different light. This paper, by referring to the themes and characters presented in Chandra Manning’s What this Cruel War Was Over, analyzes how the issue of slavery and race shifted in the eyes of white Union soldiers’ during Civil War times.

This name, the brothers war made the South or North view that they are fighting with their brothers. For example, “As Americans took sides, they began to see why a civil war—a conflict between two groups of citizens in one country—is the most painful kind of war,” (TCI 1). My second example is each side viewed that if it’s brother vs brother, then no one wins. On the other hand, Some people in the war felt so strongly on their side and they would be prepared to fight against their brothers. One example is on May 23, 1863, at the battle of Front Royal, Capt. William Goldsborough of the Confederate captured his brother Charles Goldsborough of the Union and William took his brother to prison.

Decades of tension and rivalry between the North and the South led to the five year “war between the states,” more commonly known as the Civil War. No one knows for certain what the true cause for war was; some people claim it was slavery; some people insist it was state’s rights. The main issues included the South’s dwindling political power, state’s rights, expansion of slavery into the new

Ophelia Settle Egypt, informally known as Ophie, was an African American woman ahead of her time. She attained the educational status of less than one percent of the American population, was liberal and accepting of others despite the criticism around her, fought to end racism, worked independently of her husband, and believed in limiting family growth. All of Egypt’s beliefs and lifetime achievements represent a new type of woman: a woman who refuses to assimilate to her gender stereotype of weak, inferior, and domestic. Egypt dedicated her life to social work through various activities. She worked as a sociologist, researcher, teacher, director of organizations, and social worker at different times in her life. Egypt’s book, The Unwritten History of Slavery (1968), and the Planned Parenthood Clinic in Southeast Washington D.C. named after her represent Egypt’s legacy and how one person is capable of social change.

Political affiliation also played a role in identifying who the Civil War soldier was. In the Confederacy, the Democrats by far held the majority in the ranks. Anyone even thought to hold Republican views or anti-slavery sentiment was subject to harsh sentiments from other soldiers, and even discharge. Disunity amongst the Confederate soldiers was not common, unlike the Union. Here the “armies were comprised overwhelmingly, officers and privates, of citizen soldiers, of men drawn temporarily from civilian life to fight a war.” These men still held their political beliefs and opinions, and there was a split in the ranks between Republicans and Democrats. This split caused the men to argue with each other frequently over the great issues of the day. “The sturdy American spirit of democracy produced these characteristics…but they interfered seriously with military efficiency by destroying unity an co-operation.” One of these great issues was the issue of slavery. Upon Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, many soldiers whom

While the Civil War was the most tragic of wars to occur on American soil to date, based on the events leading to its onset, it is hard to deny its inevitability. Yet, there is no doubt that the Civil War had a significant impact on our history and set the course for the many needed changes that so many were unsure how to address. However, due to the multitude of grievances that occurred at that time, it seems many are misguided as to the real reason why the Civil

There has been much historical debate over the origins of The American Civil War, with some historians arguing that it was due to the rising Abolition Movement and others arguing that it was due to economic factors, such as the fundamental differences between the Northern and Southern economies. Many Historians tend to agree that although the war did not begin because of slavery, it influenced the events and outcome of the war itself, as the cause became one of emancipation. Historiography of the Civil War doesn’t describe the origins of the Civil War as being purely economic and frequently the view of the Civil War as ‘a crusade against the evil of slavery’ is rejected. Other factors to consider when examining the origins of the Civil War include political decisions such as The Missouri Compromise and public reactions to them, economic differences and the Abolition Movement. In my opinion, I think that race had the largest influence in causing The American Civil War due to the rise and influence of the Abolition Movement.

The North and the South both had to make extreme adjustments in order to prepare themselves for an all-out internal war. Both sides of this conflict grew from the same place. Despite the impulse to close ranks amid the culture wars, however, professional historians have not abandoned the debate over Civil War causation. Rather, they have rightly concluded that there is not much of a consensus on the topic after all. Most people believe that the Civil war was fought over the slavery enterprise, and they are partially right. The civil war did in fact have ties to opposition and the attempted removal of slavery in the United States, but that was not the only reason for this bloody and ill-fated War Between the States.

The causes of most wars are often very complex, but in the America civil war it came down to two major issues, slavery and the protection of the Union. In the North, they were growing richer all the time as industry developed fast. The workers were mostly immigrants with low wages. The South didn’t have these resources, and the slaves were essential for them. The Northern politicians insisted that the Slavery should be abolished and that this was an evil system that should be stamped out. Only the rich wool farmers and other wealthy

Today, one main subject still debated by historians is the primary cause of the Civil War. Most people will argue that the indisputable reason for the War was centered on slavery. While slavery definitely played a significant role in the Civil War, it was not the only cause of the war. The essential cause of the Civil War consisted of an ongoing political battle between the States’ Rights versus the Federal Rights. Due to the political battle, other probable reasons for the Civil War began to develop such as slavery and the differences in the Northern and Southern economies.

However, with Jefferson’s dislike for the institution he knew that to oppose the issue could tear the nation completely apart. In 1820, during James Monroe’s Presidency the Missouri Compromise was approved. The Missouri Compromise essentially regulated the balance for the admittance of Slave and Free States into the Union. In Thomas Fleming’s A Disease in the Public Mind the author, states that with the Compromise’s passing that Jefferson declared that it signaled the end of the Union of the nation as they had once known it. With this idea in mind, Fleming presents how the Missouri Compromise seemed unsettling for Jefferson, who believed that regulating the state’s choice to have slavery or not would not end the institution but only stir up more loathing for the Southern States. Along with this Fleming, points out how many slave owners made the claim that the slaves they owned were considered property and were entitled to their property to be preserved by the government. It was here that the first changes in the nation’s society and economics take place in the United States. With the further spread of slavery into the west, the abolitionist and anti-slavery movements began to rise changing the minds of many who lived in the North and even some in the South to look at their society as a whole, which formed the question whether the institution of slavery was a moral and just one. This idea of slavery being moral and moral in American society heavily relied on the religious

The American Civil war is one of the most studied topics in American history. Yet still, a definitive answer cannot be found as to why the war broke out. Many of the interpretations can be grouped into two major schools of thought: the irrepressible conflict or the Blundering Generation. It was certainly true that the North and South were becoming increasingly different during this period. Slavery being the most fundamental of these, however there was also variances in the economies and culture. This would support the idea that the war was inevitable as the differences were too great. However, it can be argued that radically different societies can co-exist without

The causes of the Civil War were complex and have been controversial since the country began. Some causes include; states’ rights, economics, and slavery. The most recognizable and popular cause is slavery. The freeing of the slaves was an important moral issue at the time and one of the greatest causes of the civil war. "It was only by carefully avoiding the moral issue involved in slavery that Northerners and Southerners could meet on any common ground." (Goldston, 79). The time came in which our great country would finally address the moral issue of slavery. Although there are many different causes to the American Civil War, the main cause was slavery because other causes are rooted in the issue of slavery.

Even though the slavery was introduced in the early 1600s, it had no doubt that the abolitionist inaugurated the movements about the slavery actively from early 1850s. The slavery became the essential part of industry in the South more than in the North because of the large plantations and slave trades. So in the Southerners’ perspective, the slave flourished the businesses with their inexpensive labor forces in order to profit; they argued slaves were by and large a culturally inferior, child-like people who were treated well by whites and thus content with their status in life. However, Uncle Tom’s Cabin described the slavery as an evil institution that must be abolished accurately from the historians today.