Civil War
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The Election of Lincoln, Secession of the southern states and the Confederate States of America Constitution set the stage for the bloodiest and saddest war in American History. Before the Civil war even began the Nation was divided into four very distinct regions; Northeast, Northwest, Upper south and the Southwest. With two fundamentally different labor systems, slavery in the south and wage labor in the North, the political, economic and social changes across the nation would show the views of the North and the South. The civil war was based on the abolitionists ideas of emancipation and liberation of slavery the North wanted the war in order to create a society without slavery. The Norths aggression to control the south lead to the where were it was no longer tolerable for the South. With the election of the anti-slavery Republican Abraham Lincoln, the southern states decided they had to take drastic action in order to protect their own interests. The south had been waiting for an excuse to secede form the union, the election of Lincoln by the North was their chance. The Northern abolitionists states were mainly responsible for the Civil war in many political, social and economic aspects.
Politically, the Northerners contributed immensely to the opening of the Civil War. John Browns Raid at Harpers Ferry made the south believe the Northerners had a whole scheme to ban slavery. The South wondered how or why they would remain in the Union when a “murderous gang of abolitionists” were running around. Southerners also believed that this violent abolitionists view was a common one shared by the entire North. This act of the North made the South resent the Norths pushy ways and begin to think of leaving the Union. The Dred Scott case the conflict was one of the leading causes to the Civil War. Scott was backed by interested northern abolitionists in his suing for freedom. It simply put yet another wedge in between the North and South Democrat Party. It also left Northern abolitionists angrier then ever. They thought the ruling not in favor of Scott was early an opinion. In turn the attitude of the North made the Southerners astonished at Northerners lack of respect and honor of the Supreme Courts decision. Northern abolitionists were too insistent on slavery for the Southern cause. In the compromise of 1850 the ratio became unequal of free to slave states in favor of the abolitionists. Angry pro-slavery southerners were running out of possible slave states for the confederacy. The Bill made California free and prevented the selling of slaves in New Mexico and Utah. In fury, southerners developed the fugitive slave law; it made U.S citizens help return runaway slaves. Although the Northerners refused to comply, and ended up helping slaves get out of the country. The shortening of slavery in the United States made the southerners want to form their own government so they could simply have their own independence.
Along with the Souths fugitive slave law to capture run away slaves, came there Norths Underground Railroad to assist runaway slaves into Canada. The south was frustrated because of the increasing number of runaway slaves due to the Underground Railroad. A major contributor and abolitionist of this assistance was Harriet Tubman. Due to this the Southerners developed a stricter fugitive slave law then the one previously instated in 1793. It proved to be not strong enough mostly because of state authorities who didnt cooperate. The northerners did not gain personally from breaking the laws to liberate the slaves of the south. However, the loss of these slaves to the south was greatly hindering and infuriating for them. They argued with the constitution in hand claiming losing their property was unconstitutional; however the loss of honor was worse. Uncle Toms Cabin written by Harriet Breecher Stowe antagonized the south deeply with her display of the harsh proceedings in southern society with slaves. The south was furious at Stowe when they had learned that hundreds of thousands of Americans were reading her outrageous writings. This book leads to the growing feeling of the confederates to not want to share the same political rules with the Northern Yankees. Once more the South was considering how it would be if they had their own government and their own laws. The book made many northerners refused to participate in the fugitive slave law; now that southern way of life was brought to life for them. When Charles Sumner made himself one of the most hated men in Senate; Preston S. Brooks intervened by beating him unconscious with a cane. This greatly disturbed the North and made them develop a quite distaste for brooks. The South was not bothered at all by his display of aggression by Brooks. They simply remembered how abusive Sumners speech was and how supportive the North was of it. If Senator Sumner was not such an egotistical, intolerant man, then Brooks would have had no reason to retaliate.
The economy was rather unstable in between the North and the South during the Civil War. The North felt hatred towards the south because they felt as if slavery