Civil War–North Representation
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Most people say there are two sides to every story, but there can only be one side to the story of people, being denied as to having equal rights, no matter their color or creed. Slavery might have been acceptable to people in England, but the main reason that drew people to America was in the pursuit of Freedom. Its only reasonable to believe that to be true to this principle, slavery had to be abolished.
The brutal disagreement that tore apart the North and the South was carried to its fullest extent in the United States in the years before and during the Civil War. The South, also known as the Confederates, supported slavery. The North, also known as the Union, was anti-slavery, and made every effort that they could to cease it. The Confederates were usually cruel to their slaves, and denied them basic rights. The Union supporters were right in their attempts to end slavery and protect the deserved equity of all people: white or black. Although slavery was not the only cause of the Civil War, it was a main factor to which the other issues seem minuscule.
The event that caused the outbreak of the Civil War was the passing of the Fugitive Slave Act in 1850. Primarily, this document dealt with the right to reclaim runaway slaves. This law enabled southerners to call upon the federal government to capture runaway slaves who had fled from the South, and may be living in the North, in hope of a safe haven. The Fugitive Slave Act and the laws that it made legal, caused extreme controversy in the North. This caused a major split between the North and South.
Some northern states passed laws forbidding state officials to enforce the Fugitive Slave Law, which only angered the southern states. Many northerners started to take action to help slaves escape from their owners. This major controversy over the runaway slaves sparked the beginning of the Civil War.
The northerners felt that slavery was an act that was in opposition to the United States Constitution. The Constitution states that all people were entitled to their basic rights, to which the suspected runaway slaves were being denied. It was known that some blacks in the North were free, yet they were still being accused of being a runaway during this time of chaos. These people were not given their basic right to a jury, and were denied of their right to be innocent until proven guilty. When the northerners heard that the slaves basic rights were being ignored, they wanted to immediately put an end to slavery.
“I do not wish to think, or speak, or write, with moderationI am in earnest–I will not equivocate–I will not excuse–I will not retreat a single inch–AND I WILL BE HEARD.” Those were some of the most powerful words of the time, which were stated in just the first issue of William Lloyd Garrisons anti-slavery newspaper, the Liberator, which was released to the public in 1831. Garrison continuously spoke out against slavery and for the rights of Americas colored inhabitants. Through the Liberator, Garrison pressed for the emancipation of all slaves. When questioned about what would become of all of the freed slaves, he responded by saying that the slaves would assimilate, and soon be granted the same freedoms and respect of the white population.
Garrisons newspaper was not widely circulated; there were fewer than four hundred subscriptions during its second year of publication. However, Garrison held the widespread reputation of being one of the most radical of abolitionists. In 1832, he helped to organize the
New England Anti-Slavery Society, followed by the American Anti-Slavery Society in 1833. These were the first organizations dedicated to promoting immediate emancipation.
In 1837, during a time of financial panic and the failure of abolitionist campaigns to gain support in the North, Garrison renounced church and state and embraced doctrines of Christian “perfectionism”, which combined abolition, womens rights, and nonresistance,