The Problems of Slavery in America - Term Paper Example

The Civil Running head: PRE-CIVIL WAR TIME LINE The Civil War: The events that lead to the divide of the nation of Client of University Name of Class The Civil 2 Timeline 1812: War of 1812 - The War of 1812 created an economic strain on the nation which was consequently further strained in 1814 when the war ended and international trade was resumed, putting a strain on domestic manufacturers as cheaper goods were imported than could be made in the nation. Early 1800’s: Commercialization of Agriculture - Commercialization of agriculture in the North created an economic shift as grain became just as important as cotton Early 1800’s: Industrialization in the North - Industrialization in the North creates a migration of workers from the South which creates social tensions. 1854: Kansas-Nebraska Act - Kansas-Nebraska Act allowed for the development of the Kansas and Nebraska territories in order to provide opportunities for the Transcontinental Railroad. However, the Act also allowed Kansas and Nebraska popular sovereignty which meant that the territories could vote over the issue of whether or not to allow slavery. 1856: Sacking of Lawrence - The Sacking of Lawrence event occurs on May 21 in Lawrence, Kansas where devastating vandalism was done by pro-slavery supporters in order to put pressure on the territory to vote to support ownership of slaves. 1856: The Pottawatomie Massacre - The Pottawatomie Massacre occurs when John Brown and a group of abolitionists kill seven pro-slavery settlers in response to the Sacking of Lawrence. 1857: Dred Scott v Sanford - Dred Scott v Sanford is heard in front of the Supreme Court where Dred Scott sues for his freedom based on the premise that he was transported into areas that did not allow slavery so his ownership was therefore invalid. The court decides that The Civil 3 since African Americans were not allowed citizenship, Scott did not have the right to bring a lawsuit. 1857: Economic Depression - Economic depression affects the North more than the South, hurting the Democratic Party and setting up the Republican Party for further support and creating a foundation for the election of Abraham Lincoln. 1859: Harpers Ferry Armory - On October16 John Brown leads a raid on the Harpers Ferry Armory in order to arm slaves and create an army sweeping through Virginia and picking up slaves along the way, depleting Virginia of its slaves. The intent was to use the weapons only for defense, but the raid began with bloodshed and was ultimately unsuccessful. As a result of the raid, John Brown was executed by hanging. 1860: Republican Victory - Republican Abraham Lincoln is elected as the 16th President of the United States with only 40% of the vote in a four way contest fueled by the divide between the North and the South. The Civil 4 The Civil War: The events that lead to the divide of the nation The American Civil War began in 1861 after a series of economic issues, combined with the highly emotional and volatile results of the issue of slavery, resulted in the secession of seven states after the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860. There were several specific events that created the political environment that would become ripe for the divide. Economic factors that were different in the North than in the South created resentments that caused the initial rift between the two areas of the country. Both the pro-slavery and abolitionists became increasingly aggressive after the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1856 created a struggle for to gain the territories for each side of the controversy. The violent acts of The Pottawatomie Massacre by John Brown and the abolitionists which eventually lead to a greater plan that was to begin by the failed raid on the armory at Harpers Ferry were supported by abolitionists escalating the issues over slavery to violence. Civil war was being fought in small struggles long before it actually broke out within the United States. The core of the issues between the North and the South in the United States were the economic issues that divided them. According to Ayers (2005), on an episode of the Simpson’s a character seeking citizenship comes to the end of an oral test and is asked “What was the cause of the Civil War?”. He begins his answer by saying “Actually there were numerous causes….Aside from the obvious schism between the abolitionists and the anti-abolitionists, there were economic factors, both domestic and inter - “ but he is stopped by the clearly bored official who says “Just say slavery” (p. 131). Creating an understanding of the reasons behind the American Civil War is a complicated web of economics, righteous enlightenment, and violent escalation that is routinely boiled down to a core concept by the average citizen. Most often, The Civil 5 slavery is considered the reason for the war, but the end of slavery was only one aspect of the causes for the insurrection. Social and cultural differences created a natural divide between the North and the South that created a persistent rift. Economic differences, however, created the greatest divide between the two regions of the nation. President James Madison began an initiative to increase the economic stability of the new manufacturing firms that had been created during the War of 1812 that had been born of necessity, but were facing the pressure of the return of foreign trade. A recognition of the inadequacy of the infrastructure for transportation was followed by plans to create a network of roads and canals to ease the movement of goods (Calore, 2008, pp. 32). Initiatives that followed were designed to promote the welfare of new businesses in order for the United States to become an economically independent nation. However, most of these programs benefited the North far more than the South as most of the industrialization of the country was occurring in the Northern states. The migration of the population from the South to the North in order to work in the growing industries alarmed Southerners when in the census of 1850 there was a proven 20% loss of population in the South to the North (McPherson, 2003, pp. 91). According to McPherson (2003), in 1840 the South had 44% of the railway mileage, but by 1950 that had dropped to 26%. The percentage of industry that was done in the South had dropped from 20% to 18%. While this was not a large drop, the states that had the most industry were in the four states that were on the border between the North and the South and their support of slavery was shaky, giving the South a fear that they would tip the balance of power within the congress if they decided to abolish slavery because they were not economically dependent upon it (pp. 91). The Civil 6 The balance of the states with and without slavery was important for the pro-slavery states because the abolition of slavery would have a strong impact on their economy. According to documents written by historian Henry Wilson (1872-1877), a politically active Republican from Massachusetts, the rise of Slave Power in the South was “a commanding power, over sensitive, jealous, proscriptive, dominating, and aggressive” (pp. 29). According to Cairnes (2008), slavery was an emotional issue that was used by both sides in order to flame the rift between the two sides. The North used the issue in order to gain the support of Europe while the South used the issue in order to stimulate the fears of slave owners (pp. 3). The description used by Wilson from that era shows the way in which the issue was given a poetic spirit from which the agenda’s of each side could be supported. One of the pivotal moments in history of the period, that of the decision of the Supreme Court in the case of Dred Scott v Sanford (1857), defined for the nation how the existence of slavery created a divergence from the moral and ethical center of the idealism upon which the country had been founded. The issue of the case was centered on a suit brought by Dred Scott against the United States in order to gain his freedom because his owner had moved into a state that did not allow slavery. In order to avoid the issue and deny the owner his property, the court ruled that Scott did not have the right to bring the suit because he was not, as a person of African descent, a citizen of the nation. The decision created a wave of anger through the abolitionists of the North as a win for “Slave Power” that incited volatile reactions in the core of the Northern population (Norton, 2008, pp. 386). The anger that was aroused in the abolitionist movement was further aroused by John Brown in several incidents of violence that received surprising support in the North. After an The Civil 7 incident in Lawrence, Kansas where the town was ransacked and vandalized by pro-slavery activists seeking to put pressure on the citizens to vote for slavery in the state, John Brown lead a group of abolitionists to execute five of the people who participated in the vandalism. This action, which is historically known as The Pottawatomie Massacre, gave him prominence in the abolitionist movement (Rodriquez, 2007, pp. 422). What followed would be a plan of grand scale that was to begin at Harpers Ferry in the armory. John Brown and his conspirators decided to raid the armory and create a snowball effect movement that would move through the state of Virginia collecting slaves from the areas through which they passed and using the guns as defense against anyone who would try to stop them (Rodriquez, 2007, pp. 326). The idea was to strip the South of its slaves, similar to the slave revolt of Spartacus of Rome in the century right before the turn of the millennia. However, the plan was unsuccessful and Brown and his followers were executed or imprisoned, leaving him a martyr for the cause of abolition and creating a strong separation between the North and the South. The issues of the American Civil War are far more complicated than the simple answer of slavery. The political environment and the economic pressures of the division between the North and the South created a fertile ground in which the emotional issue of slavery could be used to incite strong forces for change. The unfortunate result of these changes was a war that devastated the nation. However, the abolition of slavery allowed for the fundamental ideals of the country to find a center once more. The American Civil War gave an opportunity for the North and the South to reposition their economics so that slavery was no longer an issue. The Civil 8 Works Cited Ayers, E. L. (2005). What caused the Civil War?: Reflections on the South and Southern history. New York: Norton. Cairnes, John. (2008). The Slave Power. Applewood Books. Calore, P. (2008). The causes of the Civil War: The political, cultural, economic, and territorial disputes between North and South. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co. McPherson, J. M. (2003). Battle cry of freedom: The Civil War era. New York: Oxford University Press. Norton, M. B. (2008). A people and a nation. A history of the United States Volume One, To 1877. Princeton, N.J. Rodriguez, J. P. (2007). Slavery in the United States A social, political, and historical encyclopedia. Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC-CLIO. Wilson, Henry (1872-1877) The record of the Slave Power. Found in Stampp, K. M. (1991). The causes of the Civil War. New York: Simon & Schuster. Read More