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Essay on The Major Causes of the Civil War

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During the early nineteenth century the United States began to split, but at the middle of the century people views started to become more concrete and so separation in the Union became more drastic. From 1850 to 1861 it was apparent that the union was separating into the North and the South. The Constitution played a major role in the separation that was occurring. Through sectional favoritism of bits and pieces of the Constitution and through ideas that were left out of it, the Constitution led to sectional discord and nearly the failure of the union. A major issue that caused major sectional discord was the constitutionality of slavery. In the constitution there was no mention of slavery of fears that it would divide the nation, …show more content…

They also saw the law as something that enacted the crime of kidnapping and also as something that wasn’t covered in the Constitution. The whole compromise led to the rapid settlement of Kansas and Nebraska because the Compromise of 1850 led to the Kansas-Nebraska Act. This rapid settlement was because in both Kansas and the Nebraska the issue over slavery would be determined by popular sovereignty. This rapid settlement led to Bleeding Kansas where a series of violent events occurred. Both sides of Slavery fought for control over the state of the Kansas Territory. The Democrats tried to force slavery upon free soilers who came to not allow slavery in Kansa because it was a new territory (Document F). This action showed great division in the union because of the differing views of Slavery and the constitutionality of many decisions. Some people spoke out about the flaws with in the Constitution. Also, with these flaws they spoke about their differing views on certain subjects. One of these people was William Garrison. He was a prominent American abolitionist, journalist, and social reformer. He also was one of the founders of the American Anti-Slavery Society. Garrison believed that since slaves and slavery aren’t found in the Constitution it never gave protection or countenance to the slave system (Document E).

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