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Sectional Discord Causes

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The American Civil War was a period of internal conflict in the United States that took place from April 12, 1861 to May 13, 1865. The war divided the 34 states into two separate entities: the Union and The Confederacy. The Union was composed of the states that remained loyal to the U.S. Constitution and federal government, while the Confederate States of America seceded. Following Lincoln’s inaugural address in 1861, South Carolina became the first state to secede from the Union, quickly followed by the other states that would make up the Confederacy. The build up to the war, however, began long before. The first signs of conflict can be traced back to the writing of the three-fifths clause of the Constitution. Even today, nearly 150 years …show more content…

Slavery had been a central issue in the United States since the founding of the country when the Founding Fathers As the U.S. moved closer to war, it became more divided by its attitudes, interests, and general lifestyles. Although sectionalism, the loyalty to interests of a particular region over the country, can be traced to the earliest years of the new nation, it became more of an obstacle in the 19th century as Americans began to see themselves as either Southerners or Northerners. Although sectional discord was an important factor leading to the onset of war, at its core was the division and conflicts related to slavery. This is seen with a brief examination of the election of 1860. In this presidential race of 1860, Lincoln carried all of the North except New Jersey, and “without receiving a single vote in ten southern states, [he] was elected the nation’s sixteenth president.” The Republican Party’s platform not only opposed the expansion of slavery to the western …show more content…

States’ rights, the powers held by individual U.S. states rather than by the federal government, had been an issue since the ratification of the Constitution when some feared that the federal government had more power than the states and wanted an outline of the Americans’ basic liberties. During the lead up to the official outbreak of war, state powers were a matter that caused major conflict between the North and the South. When South Carolina seceded from the Union, they stated that the Northern states had “denied the rights of property established in fifteen of the States and recognized by the Constitution.” At this time, slaves were seen as property rather than humans, and the right to property was guaranteed by the fifth Amendment. Although the quote does not explicitly mention slavery, it can be seen that South Carolina seceded because the state had felt like its so-called entitlement to own slaves had been violated when Northern states began to disregard the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 which required all runaway slaves to be returned to their master even if they had escaped to a free state. Although South Carolina also claimed their right as a U.S. state to secede because of their belief that “in every compact between two or more parties, the obligation is mutual” and when one party fails the agreement, it is void, it

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The South’s Secession The south seceding was a big turning point in history. It marked a new chapter, and not a very good one. The south seceded with a number of “grievances”. These “grievances” included a number of disagreements on major issues.

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The Civil War was a battle of great importance to our history of the United States. On April 12th, 1861 this battle broke out between the Union States, North, and the Confederate States, such as the South. The Civil War took place all throughout the United states, and did not come to an end until the Union won the war on May 9, 1856. So, our question of “What caused the Civil War”, comes with three important answers. The three main causes of the Civil War between the North and the South were Economic, Social, and Political differences.

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Thus, the South desired their lifestyle to be left alone, and if refused, the Constitution would be violated in one portion, which provoked the mentality to succeed from the union (Doc G). While the South argued for the right to own slaves since the idea of property is linked to the constitution, the North used the Constitution to prove that slavery was unconstitutional. Proven through the strict interpretation of the Constitution,as the word ‘slaves’ and ‘slavery’ are not written anywhere within the Constitution. Therefore, these slaves are not protected by the government, and the Union does not stand with these Slaveholders (Doc E). In regards to differing viewpoints between the Confederacy and Union, the Constitution was bound to break under the pressure of slavery.

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During 1820’s and 1860’s the Industrial North and the Agricultural South had opposing views on slavery. The Northern states believed slavery was negative because slaves did all the labor for the southern plantation owners. Southern states believed slavery was positive because the southern plantation owners benefited economically due to slavery. The most impactful cause of the Civil War was sectionalism, loyalty to a region, due to the fact that slavery lead to disagreements and conflict between to two regions having the result of sectionalism. For example, according to Abraham Lincoln while he was giving his speech when accepting the Republican nomination for U.S. Senator from Illinois, on June 16, 1858, in Springfield, Illinois, he stated

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In the 1850s, slavery was the perhaps maybe the number one topic of discussion in politics that did not actually get voiced. However, when it came to president candidates, they steered clear of declaring an official stance on slavery. For example, in the “presidential election of 1852, the Whigs and the Democrats tried once again to appeal to voters across the North-South divide by running candidates who either skirted the slavery issue or voice ambiguous views…”. Everyone knew that if they voiced their opinion on slavery as antislavery or proslavery, they would win the North or the South, not both. By making it seem like they did not have an opinion, it was more likely that they would get the votes they needed in order to win.

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The election was significant as it reflected that Northerners perceived the Slave Power to be a greater threat than the Catholic Church, it played an important role in the growth of the Republican party and in portraying the downfall of the Know Nothings (American Party). This essay will analyse these factors and

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Constitution and altered it by explicitly protecting the institution of slavery. This peculiar institution was what made the Confederacy unique. Sectionalism over economic, social, political, and constitutional issues regarding slavery continued from Buchanan’s inauguration in 1857 until secession after Lincoln’s election in 1860. “The expansion of slavery into western territories provided the catalyst for the growing perceptions of northerners and southerners that they held different intentions of the republic’s future.” “In the South, loyalty to slavery and its required expansion became the hallmark of party politics as the region’s politicians—Whigs, Know-Nothing, and Democrat—competed to demonstrate their loyalty to southern rights.”

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In February 1861, a new government was on the horizon in the United States, known as the Confederate States of America. Composed of seven states from the South, this new government looked to separate from a union that they felt was tipping in power towards those who wanted to threaten the rights of the South, especially slavery. Similarly, in early 1775, colonists were preparing for revolution against a power that they felt oppressed their rights and wanted to take away their liberties. However, the Civil War was a not a complete representation of a second American Revolution. The Civil War was more than an unsatisfied party rebelling against a larger power, but a clash between two vastly different ways of life.

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