Events Culminating the Civil War - Essay Example

? EVENTS THAT LED TO THE CIVIL WAR Information October 9, The division between the north and south in the United s, soon after the American Revolution, was a major event that would later culminate to the Civil War. The Southern states adopted slavery as an essential part of their culture and economy. At the same time, the Northern states gradually abolished slavery. Political leaders from the south believed that each state had unalienable rights to make vital decisions without interference even for the national government. Among those rights was the right of a state to secede, or pull away from the Union of the United States. Most northerners had no problem with the idea of states rights. However, they believed that slavery was to be ruled by the United States federal law so no state had the right to secede when it came to this. This became a source of conflict between the north and south. As a result of this, antislavery groups made up of people calling themselves abolitionists were formed. Consequently people and especially the minority groups who were mainly slaves learned new ideas about human rights and freedom. With the fear that the federal government of the United States would force them to give up slavery, southern politicians opted to balance the number of free sates and slave states. 1Arnold points out that “if the number of free states was the same as the number of slave states, there was political balance.” The number of states that allowed slavery was thus eleven while eleven states banned slavery. Until 1820, conflict between the northern and southern states was avoided since the number of free and slave states had remained equal. However, this balance was disturbed by the expansion of the United States west of river Mississippi. By 1820, many southerners had moved to the region of Missouri, and taken their slaves with them despite the fact that Missouri was geographically located in the north. In the same year Missouri became the first state in the territory of Louisiana to apply for admission into the Union. Missouri had thousands of slaves then so it was given that it would apply for admission as a slave state. This would however, distort the balance between free and slave states. Consequently, political leaders had to make agreements and compromises to keep the nation together. The United States House of Representatives was controlled by the north and there was no way it was going to allow slavery to expand in Missouri. To prevent the expansion of slavery, the House of Representatives passed a bill aimed and gradually eliminating slaves in Missouri. According to the bill, no new slaves were to be brought into Missouri, and children of Missouri slaves, upon reaching the age of twenty five would be declared free. Although the House of Representatives passed this law, it was turned down by the senate, which had equal representation of the north and the south. The problem with this bill was solved by Henry Clay, who proposed a compromise. To pacify the south, 2Hazen points out that “Clay suggested that Missouri be permitted to enter the Union as a slave state since that was what she already was in reality.” To appease the north, Clay suggested that slavery be barred for ever from the remaining regions of Louisiana territory. Meanwhile, Maine which had also applied for admission into the Union would be admitted as a free state. The solution would thus maintain a balance of twelve free and twelve slave states. After a long, bitter and ugly debate between the northern and southern congressmen, the Missouri Compromise was passed. Missouri was admitted into the union as a slave state while Maine was admitted as a free state and slavery was banned in the northern part of Louisiana territory. Consequently, peace between the north and the south was restored for several more decades. For several decades’ peace between the north and south was maintained by the Missouri Compromise. However, in 1850, the issue of slavery and its expansion surfaced again. In 1848, Gold had been discovered at a sawmill in California leading to the Gold Rush of 1849. The population of California thus increased and Californians applied for admission into the Union as a free state. This issue was more complicated by the presence of new territories that had been gained as a result of the Mexican War in 1848. The new territories needed to apply for statehood and decide whether to be free or slave states. In 1850, Henry Clay, who had by this time named the Great Compromiser came to the rescue. Together with other stalwarts of the senate and John C. Calhoun of South Carolina together with Daniel Webster of Massachusetts among them, the issue was debated for eight months. California was admitted to the Union as a free state and once again peace was restored for another decade. The north was pleased to be joined by the free state of California and the south by the fact that new territories acquired form Mexico, would themselves decide on the issue of slavery. However, the slavery controversy was still not fully settled. This is because members of anti-slavery groups were using the Underground Railroad to guide runaway slaves from the south to freedom in the north and sometimes to Canada. Harriet Tubman, who was one of the railroads leading conductors’, was an active member of the anti-slavery movement. She was named ‘Moses’ for her active role in helping runaway slaves escape to freedom. Another member of the abolishment movement was Sojourner Truth; she played an active role leading abolitionists and women’s rights advocates. The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 became a real stickler. 3Hazen states that “This law made the compromise of 1850 ineffective and further flamed the fires of hatred that burned between the North and the South.” The act was a clear victory for the south but it did not succeed in permanently averting war. It rather added impulse to the ever-growing anti-slavery groups as slave-catchers from the south began going north with the determination of bringing back runaway slaves whom they believed were their rightful property. At times, in their determination, southern slave owners kidnapped free blacks, transported them to the south and sold them back into slavery. Instead of complying with the new act, majority of northerners openly showed disregard for it. They hanged placards on trees and doors warning blacks to hide and also did all they could to help blacks escape to freedom. In 1852, Harriet Beecher Stowe published a book entitled ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin’. Those who bought and read the book admitted that it precisely depicted the conditions endured by slaves who lived on plantations in the south. Southerners resented the book, according to them, what the book displayed was an unfair description of life in the south. They argued that the book was written by a woman from the north who knew very little about the south. Their resentment was so serious that 4Hazen describes one southerner who “showed his contempt for Mrs. Stowe by mailing her the cut off ear of a slave.” ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin’ had a great impact on the United States feeling about slavery. The book contributed in heightening the sentiment held towards antislavery. It also increased and hastened the polarization of the United States and in its own way made a great contribution to the inevitability of the Civil War. In fact, the book has been called the greatest among all American novels based on propaganda. Abraham Lincoln, who later became president referred to Harriet Beecher Stowe as “the little lady who made the book that made this Great War.” In 1854, which was four years after tensions between the North and South had been calmed by the Compromise of 1850, controversy was reignited. This was after Congress passed a law known as the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Slavery in the Louisiana territory had been made illegal by the Missouri Compromise of 1820. The population of Kansas had been increased by people using the route to the Gold Rush. Led by Missouri Senator, David Atchison, proslavery groups from Missouri would cross the border to vote in Kansas elections leading to a conflict between them and antislavery groups in Kansas. In 1855, the population of Kansas was approximately 1,500. However, in the Kansas territorial elections of the same year, the number of votes cast was more than 6,000. This logically meant that approximately 5,000 proslavery members from Missouri had crossed the border to control the elections. Senator Stephen A. Douglas from Illinois was blamed for this entire fiasco; this is because he is the one who proposed a bill for the formation of a new territorial government for the territory between the Missouri river and the Rocky mountains. As a land investor, he had vested interest in seeing the trans-Mississippi railroad constructed through the Kansas-Nebraska territory. Others though that he could have recommended this for self interests and mainly in order to win support from the South in his presidential bid. On May 21, in the year 1956, raiders from Missouri accompanied by Senator David Atchison attacked the town of Florence which had declared that it was against slavery. Three days later, this raid prompted John Brown, an antislavery activist, to seek revenge. On May 24, 1956, John Brown and his followers attacked a proslavery settlement in the county of Franklin, Kansas. Consequently a bloody war that killed 200 people began. However, order was restored in 1857 by federal troops. In 1859, Brown attempted to start a slave revolt by seizing weapons at Harper’s Ferry and distributing guns to slaves. This contributed to a spread of southern rebellion, and although he did not succeed in helping the slaves, his raid convinced southerners that war between the North and South was inevitable. On March, 26 1859, a newspaper called Staunton Vindicator published a story of two blacks who were lamenting the importation of blacks to America. 5It stated the following "We overheard a few days ago the following interesting and important conversation between two 'culled pussons' of a complexion somewhere between that of an ace of spades and the outside of a black kettle, who were leisurely sunning themselves up on a wood pile." The bloodshed in 1857 made a great contribution to the inevitability of the Civil War. It also led to the birth of the Republican Party, formed by the north and Free Soldiers who were against slavery. The objective of the party was not to eliminate slavery but rather to stop its expansion to the United States territories. Its first presidential candidate was John C. Fremont, a hero of the Mexican War. Abraham Lincoln became the Republican’s Party first candidate to win the White House. On February 3, 1860, Staunton Vindicator published a story on what the policy of the South should be towards free Negros. 6Prompted by a debate in the Arkansas legislature, the author argued that “good free blacks shouldn't have to suffer for the bad ones. Free blacks in the South need protections not afforded them in Free states.” He then proposed a registration law for Virginia. The story of a slave known as Dred Scott also contributed to the inevitability of the Civil War. Scott who had been a slave was brought to a free state by his owner. However, his owner refused to grant him his freedom. Assisted by Henry t. Blow, the son of his first owner, Scott sued his owner as compensation for his freedom on the years he had spent on a free territory. A Missouri Court that initially heard his case immediately granted him freedom, however, the Missouri Supreme Court reversed this decision making Scott a slave once again. On March 6, 1857, Chief Justice Roger B. Taney of the United States Supreme Court ruled that because Scott was a black person and also not a citizen of the United States, he had no right to sue in a federal court. He also stated that the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 and the Missouri Compromise were unconstitutional and consequently null and void. The decision by the United States Supreme Court further aggravated the North’s hatred for slavery even more bringing the nation closer to war. In 1860, Abraham Lincoln who was the Republicans preferred presidential candidate won the elections becoming the party’s first candidate to occupy the White House. Shortly after Lincoln became president, the south decided to secede from the United States. There was also a battle at Fort Sumter eventually leading to the Civil War which began in April 1861. Bibliography Arnold, James. The Civil War. Minnesota: Lerner Publications Company, 2005. “For the Vindicator; What Should be the Policy of the South Towards Free Negroes?” Staunton Vindicator (Staunton, VA), February 3, 1860. Hazen, Walter. American Black History. Missouri: Milliken Publishing Company, 2004. “Revival of Know Nothingism.” Staunton Vindicator (Staunton, VA), March 26, 1859. Read More