Civil War Dbq Essay

During the American Civil War, from 1861 through 1865, eleven Southern States seceded and left the Union. The Union, in the North, consisted of twenty states who remained loyal. The Confederacy, in the South, included eleven states that seceded. Over the next four years, the South and the North would be divided by many different issues that would have a significant impact on America, its people, and its history. The Southern states decided to secede for many reasons.

Slavery was one issue that divided the nation. The North hated that Congress allowed the South to have slaves. The Republican Party, which supported the North, stated that “we deny the authority of Congress, of a Territorial Legislature, or of any individuals, to give legal

Albert stated that the North hated the South. Albert thought that the North was gathering power and was going to use its power to free the Southern slaves. Albert supported this theory by saying that the raids done by people such as John Brown showed that the North was gathering power. Albert told everybody that as bad as disunion is, emancipation is worse and that it is better to leave the Union soon rather than be “lighted from it at midnight by the arsonists' torch” These statements can explain why so many people supported secession. What he said also helps us understand why so many non-slaveholders wanted to secede. Speeches like this one made the Southerners think that the North was coming for them and their slaves and that if the slaves were emancipated then it would be very bad. It made the Southerners afraid that the slaves would rebel against them once they were freed. They also feared that their economy would be destroyed in the South. (Document

One magazine stated that “If Lincoln were president . . . The Union would be endangered.” The magazine didn’t want Lincoln to win the election. They thought that if he won, then the Union would be in danger. The magazine told us that Lincoln and his party are major threats to the Union. They also said that there is more disunion in the Black Republican ranks in the North than in the South. This means that the Black Republican ranks are more separated and not unified. (Document 3)

The election of 1860 was also a part of the states seceding. Lincoln got most of his support from the North and Breckinridge got most of his support from the South. This election also showed that regional voting was taking place. The North and South both based their vote on their position on slavery. The North wanted to get rid of slavery so they picked Lincoln. The South wanted to keep slavery so they voted for Breckinridge. This regional voting was part of why some of the states seceded. (Document