Developments That Made the Civil War Inevitable - Essay Example

Developments that made the Civil War Inevitable

Introduction

The American Civil war occurred between 1861-1865 after the decades tension between the Northern and Southern United States erupted into war over serious issues on state rights versus the authority, slavery expansion and west ward expansion. During this time, 1860, the polls favored a republican, Abraham Lincoln to be president resulting to seceding of 7 states in the south region from the union to create a Confederate State of America which later was supported by four extra states. This war was marked by continuous four years of brutality with historical battles occurring at Manassas, Vicksburg, and Antietam among others.

The background of the American Civil war can be traced back to the mid of the 19th century when the U.S faced a period of increased growth, with huge economic differences existing between the people in the northern part and those living in the southern regions. The northern part had well operated manufacturing and other industries with agriculture only practiced by small famers. The Southern economic growth relied on of large-scale farms that needed labors inform of slaves to perform the growing of the cotton and tobacco. The increased abolitionists’ sentiments in the Northern region and the north oppositions to slavery’s expansion in western regions made most of the southern people to worry about the services obtained from slaves and they believed that their economy was at stake. This essay describes events in three developments to indicate how the Civil war was inevitable.

Rebellions and Public Awareness

This development first occurred in 1820 during the Missouri Compromise .Since the Louisiana Purchase of 1803 the congress was made to come up with a policy that was to guide the expansion of slavery into new western territories. A bitter national debate was initiated when Missouri applied for statehood as a slave state. In addition to that, the extra pro-slavery Missouri legislator would offer pro-slavery faction a Congressional majority. The Congress decision admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state to create a congress balance. A line was established to divide north and south as free and slave through the unincorporated western territories and both citizens in the regions were made aware of the changes.

The 1831 Nat Turner’s Rebellion was the second event in this development that saw Nat Turner a slave incites a rebellion that covered significant distances in the south regions plantations. Sixty whites were killed by Nat and his almost seventy cohorts. A militia was deployed that defeated the rebellion after two days of fighting and terror. Nat and other 54 slaves were killed for their participation in the uprising. A reaction from the Virginia lawmakers reminded people about their civil rights. Education was not allowed at this period including the right to assemble. The Wilmot Proviso of 1846-1850 followed after the rebellion. It was a legislation proposed by David Wilmot. The proposal could have made illegal the slavery territories obtained by the U.S due to war to include also large parts of southwestern regions. Proviso did not succeed though it shaded the first light that called for serious debates and discussion of secession.

The last event in this development was the 1852 book called ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin’ that literary created awareness about a slave life and caused a further division of the North and South. The fictional exploration of slave life was written by Harriet Beecher Stowe to create a cultural sensation. The Northern individuals felt their eyes opened and more aware about the brutality and horrors of slavery while the Southern individuals started to protest against Stowe’s work describing the book to be slanderous. Due to its public attraction, the book was the second best-selling book in American during the 19thcentury after the Bible. It became popular because it was able to expose out the issue of slavery to life for those individuals who remained unmoved after years of legislative conflicts thus creating a further division between the South and the North. A lot of citizen now had the actual facts on slavery.

The legislative Development

The first event under this category was the 1850 Compromise that was facilitated by senators Henry Clay and Stephen Douglas. The legislature prohibited extra territory extension of slavery and made the Fugitive Slavery Act stronger. This act required Northerners to sieve and take back slaves that escaped from the South .Though the arrangement achieved its goal in postponing hostile nature between the Northern and the southern regions; it partially addressed and advocated for the structural division that was experienced the United States. There was a complication in the new Fugitive Slave Act because through making people who had no slaves to associate unwillingly.

The second trigger of this development was in 1854 called the Bleeding Kansas that lasted up to 1861.The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 was faced by opposition in congress that saw it narrowly passed. People that were advocating for and those against slavery assembled in Kansas with hopes of shifting the decision by majority of numbers but nothing was conducted. The struggle between these two sides continued for five years accompanied with bloodshed and deaths of fifty-six individuals. In the long run, the two territories changed the laws against slavery, but the states of chaos was shocking and trouble the whole of United States sending a message that things were boiling up and nothing good was on the way.

The 1857 law suit of Dred Scott v. Sanford was among the legislative developments that triggered the events of civil war. Dred Scott, a slave from Virginia presented a case suing to be granted freedom in eyes of the court. The case was able to reach the Supreme Court levels, but the judges ruled that a person in slavery such as Dred Scott and others was a property which had no constitutional rights and could not be bear any noticeable traits as those exhibited by a human beings. This decision that was called ‘The Dred Scott Decision’ threatened to cause an entire change in the political agreements that had had for long hold and prevented civil wars from occurring. The manner the Justices classified a slave as a useless owned thing caused the federal government’s to put a much more confusing regulation on the institution. The Southern people revisited their problems to the new-upon territorial disadvantages on slaves and polarization increased.

Wars and Raids Development

This development was experienced in 1859 during the John Brown’s Raid. This individual declared himself as anti-slavery ‘Jayhawker’ during Bleeding Kansas event. In October 1859, a group of abolitionists formed a small rebellion of whites that were against slavery and set free the slaves while raiding a governmental owned arsenal, Virginia. Their goal was to steal guns and sword then supply them to the slaves in the South region so that to start a continuous rebellions. The group was able to capture the arsenal but they were surrounded and made to surrender by government soldiers. John Brown was executed after being tried of treason and thus become a martyr for the cause of abolitionists. The Southerners started to militarize in preparation of future raids.

The election of Abraham Lincoln by a considerable margin in 1860 even being absent in many Southern ballots triggered the war and raid development especially to the Southern individuals. Being a republican who was against slavery, southern people felt more fear and started to worry on a lot of issues including their position on the slavery issue. One month after the polls, South Carolina seceded from the Union and was followed by six more states by the spring of 1861.

The 1861 Battle for Fort Sumter followed in continuation of war and raids development. While secession was happening, several federal forts such as Fort Sumter were faced with difficult situations. Warships for the Confederate initiated a thirty four hour bombing on the stronghold. Though it surrendered two days later, the war has already started. The president requested for 75,000 individual to volunteer and join the North armies, but some states such as Tennessee and North Carolina among others refused to join hands in contribution of the troops hence they broke their previous agreements with the federal governing groups.