Civil War Dbq

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As slavery slowly started to cease in the North, it became much more widespread in the South. For the slaveholders living in the South, the election of Abraham Lincoln came as a disappointment because he was against slavery. Southerners saw slavery as a necessity for the manufacturing of goods such as cotton, corn, other crops. The North, on the other hand, believed that slavery was immoral and went against the Constitution. The debates over this topic would soon be a major factor in the upcoming Civil War. The country would be impacted economically, geographically, and socially. As soon as Lincoln was elected president in 1860, Southerners were skeptical about him and his stance on the institution of slavery. South Carolina decided to leave …show more content…

Cotton could not be picked and made into clothing, crops could not be grown or collected for meals, and the general income of slaveholders would disappear. The North, however, would manage these duties without slaves and in fact, they became more technologically advanced than the South. The South had very little railroads and banks. The North utilized farmers and offered jobs to others to complete the work that slaves used to do. The advance that the North had mechanically would be a great advantage to them as the war began because they were more equipped with weapons, easy transportation services, and general machinery. The Confederacy, although putting on a strong face, was greatly outplayed by the North in regards to manufacturing and …show more content…

The North and South obviously had very different ideas of what was or was not constitutional. The South was so firm in their stance that slavery needed to continue to be instituted that they decided to secede from the Union. This action shows just how upset the South was because this is something that comes with great risks. They knew that the North was also firm in their belief that slavery was immoral and would do whatever it took to abolish it. However, the North also wanted the country to be a united front again. Lincoln decided that he would rule slavery as illegal in new states added, but slavery would still be legal in current slave states. He could not please everyone, but this step was one that would lead to future decisions such as the Emancipation Proclamation and complete abolition of slavery by the Thirteenth Amendment. Obviously the social aspect of the issue of slavery caused a great divide in the United States, but it did lead to the unity of people in the Union, fighting for the end of enslavement, and the unity of the people in the Confederacy, fighting for slavery to