Christopher Milam US History 3rd Harmony 1/21/23 The Cause of the Civil War
In 1861, the Civil War began, causing a major conflict between two sides, the Union and the newly founded Confederacy; both had opposing ideals about Slavery. Using historical evidence, the Civil War was primarily fought over Slavery. This can be backed by the struggle against Slavery's acceptance, laws and bills directed toward the black population, and pro-slavery white governments.
Slavery's attempted acceptance was for the entirety of the United States to allow slave-holding states but was denied, causing conflict. The Declaration of Succession from South Carolina in the Confederate Documents shows how a
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The Constitution of the Confederate States in the Confederate Documents states adjustments to the original constitution and additions of their own. It says, "No bill, or attainee, ex-post packed law, or law denying or impairing the right of property in n-slaves shall be passed." from Article One, Section 9. This ceases any laws or past laws and bills from before. This stops any denying of slave-holding and makes it required as law to be allowed. This shows that the Confederacy would not tolerate nonacceptance or denial and ultimately made it prohibited to restrict slave-holding rights in any way.
Some laws were enforced only on the black population and were easily punishable with Slavery. Gabriel Prosser's document states, "The State of Virginia passed a law so a black man assaulting a white man...is a capital offense." This makes it so that if a black person attempted self-defense, they would be arrested either way. With the slim chances of being not guilty, in factor, the black person would be sent into enslavement. Slavery should not be used as a sentence, nor should a law so unjust that it can easily direct to the
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The document states, "He (the mayor) blamed the AME, Black Literacy, and white kindness toward the people held in slavery... it led to a whole bunch of new laws, and Violent reprisals against Black People..." For example, here are a few of the new laws. "People held in Slavery couldn't buy their own freedom" or "if a free black person left South Carolina for any reason, they couldn't return." People held in Slavery were now completely unable to escape Slavery legally, without a familiar with free rights to pay it for them. This keeps the enslaved ones with no people known to them in Slavery until death. The free black people who left South Carolina and came back would be illegal, making it highly likely that, as a punishment, they'd be sent back into Slavery because Slavery is legally a
The idea of a “just cause” precipitating the Civil War pushes back the transgressions of Slavery and can be further manipulated to serve the idea of “valor.” The Southern States made intentions clearer with their assembling of State Succession
The cultural attitudes of the South at this time are really what led to the creation of this legislation. Slaves were considered the property of their owner
Slave states were a large concern of the Northerners, and laws had to be
During that time, slaves were thought of as property so this law would apply to them as well. His last reason was that the states and the federal government had entered an agreement together. Jefferson Davis also mentioned non-intervention. Non- intervention meant that congress should neither prohibit nor establish slavery in the states. By congress interfering with slavery they are breaking their own law in which they made.
Not all slave owners treated the workers harshly, however the Stono Rebellion raised a difference in opinion between both parties. The white men now feared the slaves and their capabilities if given the chance to revolt again. Out of fear, the government established a guideline of rules for the slave population, outlined in a document known as The Negro Act of 1740. The Negro Act encouraged harsher control and prohibited any more transportation of slaves directly from Africa. South Carolina now had more blacks than whites due to the immigration as well as natural increases.
It's is admitted in the fact of the south statute books are covered in enactments, forbidding, under severe fines and penalties, the teaching of the slave to read and write." The warrant is that the whites know exactly what they are doing and made laws to keep the slaves in a state of uneducated to make them seem like the animals that they say they are. Another ground is stated "Standing with God and the crushed and bleeding slave on this occasion, I will, in the name of humanity, which is outraged, in the name of liberty, which is fettered, in the name of the Constitution and the bible, which are disregard and trampled upon. " The warrant is that individuals do the things they do in the name of God and
In 1819, lawmakers were forced to revisit the topic of slavery in deciding the fates of new territories gained in the Louisiana Purchase. The opinion of New York Senator Rufus King was such that Congress possessed the power to make all new states ones of freedom for those African Americans who had lived their lives in subjugation. Contrastingly, Georgia Senator Freeman Walker believed that Congress did not have the power to decide abolition. His viewpoint was as follows: slaves are property, and if the government restricts slavery then it has the right to restrict any property and means of working, such as determining exactly how a farmer is to cultivate their soil, which is overstepping the boundaries of the government set forth by the Constitution. Not only are the two viewpoints adversely different, but also they demonstrate the various extremes of opinions on slavery.
In order to undermine their ability to rebel, legislators deprived slaves of their ability to be literate. The South Carolina Act of 1740, a reaction to the Stono Rebellion, was the first act that limited slaves’ literacy. The Virginia Revised Code of 1819 states that any meetings or schools that teach slaves reading and/or writing “shall be deemed and considered an unlawful assembly” (“Original Documents”). Literacy of slaves was limited in order to take away their sense of possibility and prevent them from advocating for their freedom and equal treatment.
It was a crime on one footing with arson and murder. An African-American's right to liberty is inalienable as his right to life (Document B). The passing of this law was useless, the African-American slaves were taken captive and were still constantly treated awful. The whole point of the laws were to protect the African-American, but instead they treated them like animals and dehumanized them over and over for years to come. Still till this day, 2017, there is still racism going on.
Sources Analysis Freedom During the Reconstruction era, the idea of freedom could have many different meanings. Everyday factors that we don't often think about today such as the color of our skin, where we were born, and whether or not we own land determined what limitations were placed on the ability to live our life to the fullest. To dig deeper into what freedom meant for different individuals during this time period, I analyzed three primary sources written by those who experienced this first hand. These included “Excerpts from The Black Codes of Mississippi” (1865), “Jourdan Anderson to his old master” (1865), and “Testimony on the Ku Klux Klan in Congressional Hearing” (1872).
These laws were passed a couple years prior to the publication of Uncle Tom’s Cabin and were greatly enforced. It set forth the policies which the southern and northern states are obligated to practice. Through the pages of this novel, northerners confronted the horrific matter of slavery. I could see people views change as they began to see how this appalling endeavor affects us as a whole. They are finally beginning to see how our nation is
“March 1660/1-ACT XXII. English running away with negroes.-Bee it enacted That in case any English servant shall run away in company with any negroes who are incapable of making satisfaction by addition of time, Bee it enacted that the English so running away in company with them shall serve for the time of the said negroes absence as they are to do for their owne by a former act. ””October 1669-ACT I. An act about the casuall killing of slaves.[Colonial leaders decided that corporal punishment was the only way in which a master could correct a slave since his or her time of service could not be extended. This law represents the loss of legal protection for a slave's life in Virginia.
The law was not the same for slaves because they could not testify in court. They would have been there and were unable to speak, when everyone else was speaking. Also, it was a white person's word over a black person's, no matter the state. Slaves couldn’t even legally learn to read and write. In, Stolen into Slavery, it states, “Southern states had numerous laws forbidding slaves, and sometimes even free blacks, from learning how to read and write” (Fradin and Fradin 26).
In the period of reconstruction, there was a lack of racial equality and racism towards blacks. The 13th amendment abolished slavery, with the exception of allowing it as a punishment for a crime (“Thirteenth Amendment” 19). Although it abolished slavery, there was still a lack of equality towards blacks. The Black Codes were state laws in the south, that were implemented in 1866. These laws limited the rights of African Americans and were
For instance, a law enacted in December of 1662 stated that a child's status is determined by its mother's status, so if a child’s mother is enslaved then that child is a slave as well (Forging Slavery and Race in the Laws of Early Virginia, pp. 64). There was also a law made about corporal punishment stating that a master had the right to punish and if it came down to it, kill his slave and not be charged with murder for the reason that no one would willingly destroy their property (Forging Slavery and Race in the Laws of Early Virginia, pp. 65). These laws amongst many more instilled the idea that these enslaved people were commodities, and they made sure that once someone was enslaved there would be no