Abolishing Slavery Argumentative Essay

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The issue of abolitioning slavery has been a constitutional and civic issue that has been debated by many different Americans throughout US History. America was built off of slavery but as they advanced conflict arose throughout the country addressing the usage and purpose of still having slaves. In the 1770s, the Northern states started to advocate for freeing slaves, as they weren’t necessary to their agricultural economy and believed that it went against the civil rights of humans. The Southern states on the other hand opposed slavery due to their economy, success, and culture being dependent on them. This all led to the South being enraged with the decisions of the North and their compromises, eventually leading to war. In the end, when …show more content…

The Northerners began questioning and opposing the concept of slavery as they believed that liberty and freedom were human rights for all. In the South, things were different as they opposed the whole idea of ending slavery since they believed it took away their states' rights and economy. The South came together in hopes of bypassing any federal laws that they disagreed with and eventually seceded from the Union when Abraham Lincoln was elected. The South feared that Lincoln would go against their institution of slavery. For the South, seceding seemed like the best option to keep their white supremacy and institution of slavery alive. This disagreement eventually led to a sequence of events. To address the issues of abolishing slavery the Northern Republican Party, including Abraham Lincoln, tried to compromise with the South on multiple occasions. The Missouri Compromise of 1820 was an effort from the North to prevent the expansion of slavery. It was passed in hopes that it would keep the peace and dispute the sectional and political rivalries. It allowed Missouri to be a slave state while allowing Maine to be a free state while also declaring land north of Missouri to be counted as …show more content…

It also prohibited the slave trade in the District of Colombia, which was first the step toward abolishing slavery. (Document 3) The South believed that this was the beginning of the abolishment of slavery and eventually seceded leading to the civil war. Despite the eventual abolition of slavery in the United States, the struggle for equality and civil rights was far from over. Although the abolition of slavery ended the legalization of owning human beings, it expanded civil rights like the Civil Rights Act of 1866, which stated that all people born in the USA would be born citizens, regardless of race. Although these were some of the successes, Southern States still wanted slavery. They restricted the rights and freedom of African Americans in various aspects of life like education, employment, and public accommodations. Additionally, violence and intimidation tactics, such as lynching and the formation of white supremacist groups like the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), were used to maintain white supremacy and intimidate African Americans from practicing their