The Civil War: The Dred Scott Decision
In this paper there has been a discussion of the legislation and the tensions preceding the southern Secession. Based on this discussing it can be concluded that the tensions, which culminated with the Civil War, were present many decades before the secession itself. Even threats of Civil war and secession were present much prior to this particular conflict. This paper has also concluded that the threat of Lincoln was real to the South, because of the Republican party’s very distinct foundation as an anti-slavery party. Slavery was a soft spot in the South because of the substantial value slaves had.
Southerners were willing to go above and beyond for the sake of their state, beliefs, and neighbors, and Lincoln’s elections pushed their resentment for the North over the edge. Another division between Southerners was the issue of secession. This issue was a monumental division among Southerners in South Carolina. The majority of South Carolinians wanted to secede, but some wholeheartedly opposed the idea. “At Fernandina I saw young men running up a Palmetto flag, and shouting a little prematurely, ‘South Carolina has seceded!’ ”
Dred Scott Vs SandFord The case, Dred Scott vs Sandford, (1857) better known as the Dred Scott case was a crucial decision that affected America and it’s black population. Free blacks in America weren’t able to sue the court. The concept of popular sovereignty was also questioned, and blacks with ancestors were imported to America was slave could no longer become citizens. The Case ruled that slaves in free countries are still slaves.
Southern states started to secede after Lincoln was elected, but they seceded because they were scared that he was going to end slavery. The whole Southern economy was based off of slavery because they had an agricultural economy and not an industrial economy like the North. The North and the South were completely different. The North did not need slaves, while the South feared what would happen without slaves. “Our position is thoroughly identified with the institution of slavery-- the greatest material interest of the world.
The Compromise of 1850 was an attempt by the U.S Congress to settle divisive issues between the North and South, including slavery expansion, apprehension in the North of fugitive slaves, and slavery in the District of Columbia. The Compromise of 1850 failed because Senator John C. Calhoun from the South and Senator William Seward from the North could not agree on what Henry Clay was putting down. Part of the compromise was to make California a slavery free state which benefits the North, and enforcing a stricter fugitive slave law which benefits the South. Both the North and South opposed what the other was benefiting from. What sparked the failure of the Compromise was the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850.
Many southerners believed that they should break away or secede, from the United States. In December 1860, almost two months after Abraham Lincoln was elected president South Carolina decided to secede. By February 1, 1861, six more states – Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas-had seceded. Representatives from the seven seceding states meet in Montgomery, Alabama. On February 8, they formed their own government.
The South’s Decision STOP! Drop everything you’re doing and think! Why did the Southern states secede from the Union? Was it because of the South’s desire to be their own government or did they just do it for no good reason. The Northern States and the Southern States have always been different.
America’s founders created the constitution in order to create unification and order in the United States. However, there have been controversy surrounding the interpretation of the constitution, this has caused debate over many issues within the country. These issues and the lack of wartime policy within the constitution directly lead to the Civil War, which was one of the worst alterations this nation has faced. The Missouri compromise, the Dred Scott decision, and Bleeding Kansas were controversial issues surrounding the constitution that directly lead to the Civil War.
The Dred Scott v. Sandford case had the greatest impact on Race Relations in America because it created a legitimate definition of the citizenship. Scott, a former slave, stated that because of his occupancy in a free state, he is a free man. The other side argued that Scott was still a slave and according to the fifth amendment, no person (master) can be deprived of their property. The initial impact of the case was in favor of the slave owner but this decision was overturned by the adoption of the thirteenth and fourteenth amendment. The thirteenth amendment ended slavery and the fourteenth amendment granted citizenship to everyone born or naturalized in the United States included former slaves who had been freed after the Civil War.
The issues that eventually led to the secession of the southern states had been brewing for a considerable amount of time. Most people want to say that the reason for the war was slavery, while yes that was an issue it don’t start the war and wasn’t brought up into a little ways in to the war. One of the biggest issues that truly led to the states seceding was the debate over States’ rights. There had been a debate for years on if the federal government had the right to pass laws reversed laws already in place at state level, going far back as 1798.
The Southern states were still strongly in support of slavery in the 1860s, while the North was strongly against it. The North was almost completely free states, and had new states entering as free, while the South was still fighting to keep slavery. The fight between the North and the South continued to progress, until the South felt that they no other option, so they decided to secede. They seceded one by one, each state persuading another. There were many issues, complaints, and fears that eventually led drastic decision of the South to secede.. .
Overall, this move proved to cause more conflict than it did resolve, as this fueled the rebellious South Carolina in the latter years into more intense emotions of wanting a secession. This was a big event, due to the fact that it showed how strongly the South believed in their own rights, by disregarding the Federal Government they show early acts of treason, and they could not predict how many lives would be lost in the conflict between the two regions, and how impactful the war would be, changing the nation for the rest of the
enry Clay, a united states senator, designed a compromise in 1850, in attempt to satisfy and ease tension between the North and South, however it had the reverse effect and did just the opposite. The Compromise consisted of four main laws. First, California entering the union as a free state. Second, all new territory added could choose by popular sovereignty whether to be a slave state or a free state. Third, the banning of all slave trade in Washington DC.
Westward Expansion and Slavery were the prominent reasons for the secession crisis. The North and South developed tension due to their differing economic backgrounds. The South’s economy was heavily reliant on slave labor to produce cotton, making them want to fight to protect their way of life and the pillars of their society. In contrast, industry fueled the North, allowing the region to see the evil nature of slavery and develop antislavery views. The Fugitive Slave act of 1850 forced Northerners to support the institution through returning runaway slaves, creating anger and resistance in the North and additional tension.
‘Slavery was the root cause of secession’. ‘November 6 1860, Lincoln was elected president of America which resulted in panic emerging in the South’ . The election of Lincoln as president who was a Republican leader meant that ideologies, movements and values from the North would be implemented in the South which meant the abolition of slavery. Slavery was a huge characteristic of the South as the economy; politics; social status and psychological mind-sets were influenced by the process of slavery. The southern white population then derived the idea of secession which meant the South would gain independence from Northern aggression .
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