Civil War Dbq Essay

1334 Words6 Pages

On April 12, 1861, the Civil War was a war fought to determine the survival of the Union or independence for the Confederacy. Abraham Lincoln, elected as the President representing the Republicans, supported the banning of slavery in all the U.S. territories. The Southern states viewed this as a violation to the Constitution, therefore, seven slave states formed the confederacy before Lincoln’s inauguration. Efforts for compromising failed, therefore both sides were prepared for war. Although, there may have been many different discussions on the underlying causes of the start on the war, it has been proven that the causes made the war in the end inevitable. David M. Potter discussed that there was a problem with the taxation of slave property …show more content…

Douglas. Independent Democrats protested the Kansas-Nebraska Bill, who believed that slavery should not be extended into the western territories. The Independent Democrats believed that the Union was formed to establish justice and secure the blessings of liberty. “Equal rights and exact justice for all men”, was stated by the Independent Democrats. Slavery would contradict the Constitution and therefore, slavery should not be extended into territories where it does not exist. “We will not despair; for the cause of human freedom is the cause of God”, was another statement by the Independent Democrats. Soon, Senator Douglas responded back to the Independent Democrats with an explanation of the objective of his bill. Senator Douglas stated that the bill does not contain any clause designed to introduce, revive, and or establish slavery. Senator Robert Toombs of Georgia insisted that Congress should protect slavery in territories because it would loosen the bond of the Union and weaken the common defense. Robert Toombs also believed that it would endanger the general welfare by sowing hatreds and discords among our people. By doing so, it does not benefit the black race, but injuring them instead. Holt would support that the response between the Independent Democrats, Senator Douglas, and Senator Toombs, would have political issues that could have created tension to start the civil …show more content…

Thoreau stated that there are men out there that opposed slavery but they are only opinionated. Thoreau said “Washington and Franklin, sit down with their hands in their pockets, and say that they know what to do, and do nothing”. By saying so, Thoreau believed that people knew what they were doing and that it was morally wrong. However, there was no action to make any progress to abolish slavery. Thoreau supported the idea of the Independent Democrats that responded to the Kansas-Nebraska