What Were The North And South Views Before The Civil War

Before the Civil War, the North and South had major conflicts with each other on the topic of slavery. The North thought slavery was morally wrong and the South thought slavery was the natural way of life. All of this tension led to the Civil War being completely inevitable.
Contrasting beliefs on slavery led to violence, even between honored leaders in the U.S. An Abolitionist speech was given by, Charles Sumner. This speech made many Southerners outraged especially Preston Brooks who is from South Carolina. Preston Brooks approached Mr. Sumner and said, “Col. BROOKS thereupon struck Mr. Sumner who was rising, across the face with a gutta percha cane. He continued repeating the blows until Mr. Sumner fell upon the floor, crying out for help.

In an anti-slavery speech given by Alexander Stephens, he mentions Thomas Jefferson’s views. He says, “The prevailing ideas entertained by him and most of the leading statesmen at the time of the formation of the old constitution, were that enslavement of the African was in violation of the laws of nature; that it was wrong in principal, socially, morally, and politically.” (D #11) This quote demonstrates that Thomas Jefferson knew slavery was a great evil that needed to be stopped and the South completely disagreed. The South thought slavery was necessary. This is significant because it shows the Confederate states were going against the original constitution. Also, this highlights that slavery was wicked and brutal in every way. Also, in the “Cornerstone” speech given by Alexander Stephens he explained the Confederate Governments views on slavery and their new constitution. “Our new government is founded upon exactly the opposite idea; its foundations are laid, its cornerstone rests, upon the great truth that negro is not equal to the white man.” (D #11) This quote reveals how the Confederate government was very pro-slavery and they did not believe that African Americans were equal whites. This is important because it proves how opposite the viewpoints were. Also, this quote demonstrates that the Confederate Government would make a new constitution that ensures slavery will survive and African Americans would

Lincoln was running for U.S Senate against Senator Stephen Douglas. Lincoln and Douglas had many debates. On October 16 they met in Illinois to have a debate. This is when Lincoln gave his “House Divided” Speech. Lincoln's exact words were, “I desire no concealment of my opinion in regard to the institution of slavery. I look upon it as a great evil. I believe this government (of the United States) cannot endure half slave and half free. I do not expect the house to fall - but I do expect it will cease to be divided. it will become all one thing, or all the other.” (D #2) This quote clearly shows that Lincoln was against slavery, but he was not going to end it completely. This is significant because no matter what Lincoln said the South always thought he wanted to end slavery which made the South very angry. Also, Lincoln was predicting a bad outcome for the Union. He knew we could not stay divided forever. Abraham Lincoln was finally elected president. Lincoln's only supporters came from the North. Lincoln did not receive any electoral votes from the South and he was left off many Southern ballots. The South realized they had no power and South Carolina wrote a declaration of secession. Here is an example from the declaration. “A geographic line has been drawn across the Union, and all the States north of that line have united in the election of a man (as) …