There were several conflicts reoccurring between the North and South that ultimately led to the Civil War, primarily slavery and infringement of states’ rights within the United States. Preceding the Civil War, the North and the South tried to resolve their differences with major political compromises in 1820 and in 1850 in an attempt to evade a seemingly inevitable forthcoming war, yet they were unsuccessful. Eli Whitney’s invention of the cotton gin in 1793 revolutionized American slavery (Give Me Liberty, pg. 317). Large cotton plantation owners in the South, whose main economy was the cotton crop, felt as though they needed an increase in manpower in order to increase their production of cotton; this manpower was to come from slaves. …show more content…
Dred Scott was on trial for his freedom after his owner died, and he was in a free state. This court case was monumental, due to its decision under Supreme Court Justice Taney, which stated that blacks were not citizens, but they were objects. Under the Constitution, the government did not reserve the right to restrict property, and the slaves were considered to be property. The Dred Scott decision reasserted the validity of slavery (Give Me Liberty, page 494). This infuriated the North, and eventually would incite actions leading to the civil war, as tensions were high with …show more content…
The debates included issues of the day like popular sovereignty and the Dred Scott decision. Lincoln and Douglas’ views of freedom conflicted; Lincoln’s view of freedom meant that he was opposed to slavery and argued that slavery should not be expanded. Lincoln believed that it was the national government’s role to prevent the expansion of slavery. Douglas, on the other hand, firmly believed that popular sovereignty was the best way to address the issue. While Douglas went on to win the senate seat, these debates gave Lincoln fame and facilitated him to later on win the presidency and beat Douglas in the 1860 presidential