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The Secessionist Movement

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The secessionist movement leading up to the Civil War was rooted in white southerners’s desperation to maintain their economically archaic societal norms. Rapid evolution to capitalism in the North startled the South, for they feared the Union would prioritize the unfamiliar notion of industrialism over the stable southern agriculture. Tensions dealing with slavery began with the drafting of the Constitution; however, the threat of abolitionism did not become truly apparent until the mid-19th century with the adoption of multiple pieces of contradicting legislation. The North and South maintained drastically different views on the concept of slavery, which became glaringly apparent with the Anthony Burns event as well as the developments that followed. The South grew to believe that such differences were irrevocable, and that secession was the only route in which they could uphold their principles. As …show more content…

Southern Slave States feared an increase in Free States in the North, so with the implementation of the Missouri Compromise, they felt slightly more secure in their position in the Union. Henry Clay’s compromise forbade slavery north of the 36th parallel, which added security to the North as well, yet it was eventually deemed unconstitutional in the Supreme Court case Dred Scott v. Sandford. It was replaced by the 1854 Kansas-Nebraska Act with the execution of a policy known as popular sovereignty, which essentially allows the citizens of an area to determine whether they would allow slavery in that specific area. Nevertheless, neither the Missouri Compromise nor the Kansas-Nebraska Act impacted the South’s decision to secede like the Compromise of 1850. Though it was meant to benefit the South through strengthening the Fugitive Slave Act,

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Southern Secession Dbq

266 Words | 2 Pages

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.

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Mcculloch Vs. Maryland 1819: Enumerated Powers Of The National Government

904 Words | 4 Pages

When congress was siding more with free states, Southern Leader, John C. Calhoun, created the “doctrine of nullification” which states that “a state has the constitutional right to nullify a national law” (73). This action almost lead to war when South Carolina invoked this doctrine and Andrew Jackson took military action to keep the union in tact. Although both sides were able to reach a compromise, a civil war will take place 30 years from then. Another spike in tensions was the Dred Scott decision (1857). A slave named Dred Scott argued that since his master died in a free state, and the Missouri Compromise of 1820, a federal law, made slavery in a free state illegal, he was a free man.

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Michael Shaara's The Killer Angels

1439 Words | 6 Pages

For Northerners, empathy was easier to practice. As the notion of emancipation became more widely discussed by politicians during the abolitionist movement tensions between the North and the South rose. The idea that the nation could eradicate the lifeblood of the southern plantations was deemed unacceptable and the southern states felt helpless. The South fought for state’s rights which is synonymous with slavery as that was the most important right they were fighting for, and the North fought to keep the South from seceding, largely due to South’s interest in maintaining slavery as

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The Similarities Between Slavery And The Hoover Dam

1317 Words | 6 Pages

People were murdered, brutally injured, or financially hurt in the name of slavery; for and against it. Many of the laws passed for slavery caused citizens to rebel and act out against the government. The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 was the epitome of these rebellions. The Kansas-Nebraska Act stated that popular sovereignty would be used to establish if a state was a free state or a slave state. This act abolished the Missouri Compromise Line, which allowed all states North of the line to be free states and all states South of the line to become slave states, ("Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854.

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How The Emancipation Proclamation Changed The Civil War

490 Words | 2 Pages

Before the Emancipation Proclamation the main focus of the Civil War in the North was that they believed that they had to fight to preserve the Union. At the beginning of the war, abolishing slavery was not a main goal of the North. Southerners believed that they had the right to leave the Union (secede). Southerners wanted independence so that they could keep their traditional way of life, including the having and keeping of slavery. With the issuance of the new Emancipation Proclamation freedom for slaves now became the new goal for the north, while the South wanted to defend

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The Dred Scoot Decision

424 Words | 2 Pages

Furthermore, after the Kansas Nebraska Act was passed, wealthy people wanted to take advantage and build a transcontinental railroad that run through Kansas, However, in order to build the railroad they need slaves. The Supreme Court in case Dred Scoot v Sandford declared the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional, letting others states in the west to be either a free state or a

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Secession Was A Failure In Democracy

251 Words | 2 Pages

In the months following the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, seven southern states seceded from the Union and formed the Confederate States of America. This was done primarily as a response to Lincoln’s election, as Lincoln did not support the institution of slavery, a crucial aspect of Southern society. Secession from the United States meant that these states would form a separate country from the United States with its own government and military. Some have speculated that secession was failure in democracy, that democracy should have prevented such a large part of the United States to be so unhappy with its government that it would form a new country. However, it was the American system of democracy that laid

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Major Events Leading To The Compromise Of 1850

566 Words | 3 Pages

Additionally, vital political actions carried out by the federal government during the 1850s, led to more division between abolitionists and proslavery Southerners, as the decisions were more one-sided. Major events leading to this war included the Compromise of 1850, introduced by Henry Clay, who intended to unite the North and South, preventing secession, which John Calhoun strongly encouraged. However, the set of laws passed within Clay’s compromise led to more territorial conflict in the west. Next, the Kansas Nebraska Act of 1854 was written by Stephen A. Douglas, who wanted to organize the territory of Nebraska. However, the act resulted in the outbreak of extreme fight and bloodshed in the border of Kansas, because of popular sovereignty and the Missouri Compromise being repealed.

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Civil War Dbq

1189 Words | 5 Pages

According to the “Kansas-Nebraska Act,” “When the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 was passed, the Missouri compromise was repealed (They got rid of the rule). The act organized the Kansas-Nebraska territories on the principle of popular sovereignty” (1). This means that while the new act would allow the people to vote to be a slave or free state this means that the Missouri 36°30 line would be ignored and the North would get angered. It states, “A bitter contest followed between pro-slavery and anti-slavery supporters for the control of Kansas. Between 50 and 200 people died during the fighting” (Kansas-Nebraska Act, 1).

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Essay On North And South Secession

798 Words | 4 Pages

As the tensions between the North and the South keep growing, we have to look at the secession of the Southern states and if this act will help or hinder the debate brought about between the two territories. One of the first things we need to inspect is the differences between the two. Then we need to get down to the core and see why there are major issues between the North and the South. Finally, after we go through the facts, I will present my opinion on whether or not secession is necessary and if it is or isn’t the right route to take in order to resolve the conflicts separating the United States.

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How Did Slavery Cause Secession

1451 Words | 6 Pages

‘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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Southern Nationalism In The Civil War

1668 Words | 7 Pages

The Civil War resulted due to the division and the gradual collapse of the Union between the two sections. It can be argued that both the North and South were distinct regions. However, both regions initially displayed nationalism in various ways at the beginning of the Civil War. Southern nationalism allowed the Confederates to justify their secession and independence. The formation of the Confederacy and the established Confederate Constitution in February 1861, nationalism validated their status as an independent country.

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Three-Fifths Compromise In The Constitution And The Civil War

437 Words | 2 Pages

In the midst of the debate, Maine had also requested admittance to the Union. In the Missouri Compromise, both Missouri and Maine were admitted to the Union, with Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state, preserving the balance of free and slave states. In 1854, the issue of slavery in the newly created Nebraska and Kansas territories was altered to be decided by popular sovereignty (doc. 2). This was in part because the Supreme Court case Dred Scott v. Sandford, lasting from 1847-1857, had declared that the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional (doc. 3). This meant that the issue of slavery in these territories was now to be decided by popular vote within those territories.

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Why Did The American Civil War Was Inevitable?

707 Words | 3 Pages

However, these differences show that the North and South were actually two distinct countries held together by one constitution. The North felt that decisions regarding slavery and its legality were entrenched in the central government while the South felt that such decision belonged to the individual states. In the times preceding the war, both sides could not reach a compromise. Bonner mentions, “Because secession and war were permitted to come, warned Russel, "We are not entitled to lay the flattering unction to our souls that the Civil War was an inevitable conflict (Bonner, 195).” Hence, these differences could only be addressed through war.

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Compare And Contrast The American Revolution And The Civil War

825 Words | 4 Pages

After the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 and the rise of the Republican party, Southerners feared the tipping of the balance of political power against them; their need for self-determination parallel the colonists’ belief of rebelling against the oppressive government of Great Britain. However, the Civil War represented something more: the clash of the feudalistic, agrarian South with the industrialized, capitalistic North. These two powers differed socially, politically, and economically, and were especially conflicted over slavery. These two sections of the United States were divided against one another, and could not survive this way. Therefore, it is more accurate to state that though the Civil War resembled some aspects of the American Revolution, it was a clash between two forces who could not exist with one another in their current state, leading inevitably to conflict between the

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