During the 1800’s, issues such as slavery became a huge topic in America. Today, most people believe the civil war was about slavery, but it was only part of it. The war was actually about preserving the Union. This makes me wonder, “What led to the secession of the South?” While it is hard to say abolitionists were directly responsible for the national discord in America, they were a key part in causing the increase of sectional divide. For example, Harriet Beecher Stowe was an abolitionist outraged by the Fugitive Slave Law. She wrote Uncle Tom’s Cabin to show what slavery really was. It sold over 500,000 copies in the United States. They helped expand the support for abolishing slavery nationwide. President Lincoln even called Harriet …show more content…
While the issue of states were avoided then, the Compromise of 1850, definitely intensified sectional feelings. The Compromise of 1850 required that the Fugitive Slave Law be put into place. It required Northerner’s to return runaway slaves that were within their region, but if they refused, then the Northerner could be faced with severe punishments. This appalled the North, but the Southerners approved this act. This led to an increasing conflict between them. I felt the government should have made a different compromise, that could have unaffected the North yet satisfy the South. The government was afraid of disunion or secession, and instead wanted to preserve the union. As a result, John Calhoun argued for southern rights, return runaway slaves, and leave slavery alone. However, this was countered by Daniel Webster and Henry Clay. The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 was another issue that caused a division. It created two new territories that would allow the states to use popular sovereignty. While this was generally a good idea, a problem occurred in Kansas where “Border Ruffians” attempted to force Kansas towards slavery. Then later, there was a fight at Lawrence, Kansas whether or not the territory would be slave owned or free. The fight was even brought to the Senate where Charles Sumner was beaten by Senator Preston