Essay About Sign Of The Times And Pro-Slavery

Amercan Civil War
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American Civil War
No event in U.S. history evokes controversy like a discussion of the causes of
The American Civil War. From old men to great authors and politicians, the
argument rages on. “Slavery was the issue that hung the South and caused the
Civil War.” Another argument: “It was because the South seceded.” Yet others
argue that it was “industry” versus “agriculture” or in other words, Hamiltonians
versus Jeffersonians.
However, the Civil War was inevitable because of not only these reasons, but
many others as well. The road to war actually began years before a shot was
fired, and the political policies of the era fueled the flames of dissention.
In interviewing randomly and asking a bystander the cause of the war between
the states, a common response would be, “It was a war to free the slaves.” If that
was the reason, then why were they rejected as soldiers when Lincoln proclaimed
“a state of insurrection?” One could argue the fact that the blacks werent truly
free at all. Instead, it took the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s to set the
American Blacks free in this country; however, the fight for equality has not been
resolved fully. For example, in 1995, racial tension was at fever pitch when it
was proposed that a statue in memory of the late famous tennis champion, Arthur
Ashe, a black athlete, be erected in downtown Richmond, Virginia, his
hometown. Traditionalists, (whites) argued that it was not proper to place the
statue of a tennis star in the presence of statues honoring Robert E. Lee and
Stonewall Jackson. Black groups objected because they did not want his statue
placed in an area of town that would not welcome Ashe in his own lifetime.
(Davis, p xiii)
In 1970 another sign of the times literally was a sign erected outside
Wilmington, North Carolina, which read “The Ku Klux Klan welcomes you.”
(xiii)
Politically the years leading up to the Civil War were like a volcano waiting to
Erupt between the North and South. In 1820 the Missouri Compromise was
enacted. (Catton, p 57) This act was set about to calm the tempers of both sides.
After the emergence of Texas, California, and Oregon there were no more
slavery states to be allowed to the Union. At the time there were twenty four
states; twelve pro-slavery, and twelve anti-slavery. This seemed favorable for all
concerned. It gave both sides of the slavery issue equal power in Congress. Upon
Texas ousting the Mexicans in 1836, they set about establishing themselves as a
pro-slavery republic. Once again tensions ran high as they were not allowed to
enter the Union because no one in Congress wanted to re-visit the violate issue of
slavery.
Adding to these tensions were more and more voices of dissension. Moderates
like Clay and Webster who were willing to compromise their views on the
slavery issue for the benefit of keeping the Union intact. Some wanted to let the
issue of slavery lie on the