[Solved] Civil War

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[Solved] Civil War

Before the Civil War, slaves worked hard for no pay. They were treated unfairly, like objects, rather than people. Many arguments, compromises, and decisions were made about slavery tore the United States apart and divided the country.

Below are arguments that were made

1. The Life of Slave

By 1860, almost one third of the population was made up of slaves in the south. Most slaves worked on cotton plantations. Slaves’ lives didn’t matter to anyone. An owner of a slave could do anything to them. They thought of slaves as objects you buy instead of human beings. If a slave didn’t work hard, their owner usually didn’t treat their slaves well. The slaves worked very hard, but the owners did not pay them. It was hard to keep a family together for slaves. This was because when slaves got sold, they would most likely get split up and would have to go to different plantations to work. Once a family member was sold away to another plantation, they sometimes would never see their family again. Many slaves wanted to visit their families, but they were too far away or they may not have even known where their family was. Some baby slaves didn’t even know their family because some of them were sold right after they were born.

To keep the slaves under control, the people of the south made laws about what slaves could and could not do. The slaves could not do the following:

go outside after dark

gather in groups of three or more

leave their owner’s property without a written pass

own weapons

learn to read or write
2. Sectional Division

There were differences in the country before Civil War. The northern part of the United States was totally different from the southern part. Because they were so different from each other, the South wanted to break away from the North, but the North didn’t want to break away from the South. The South felt that it was so different from the North that it wanted to be its own nation. The problems that were caused by the differences between the North and the South were called the sectional division.

The North and South had many differences.

The North The South

No slavery slavery

More factories and manufacturing More farms and farming

Wanted to be one whole nation Wanted to be its own nation

22 states 11 states
The difference between the two that caused the biggest problem was that the South had slavery, while the North did not. Because of this difference, there were many arguments between the North and South.

The Fugitive Slave Law

The Fugitive Slave Law, passed in 1850, said that if slaves ran away to the North or Canada, they would have to be returned to their rightful owners. The Fugitive Slave Law was important because the Southerners paid for the slaves, and they didn’t think that it was fair for them to lose their money when their slaves escaped. They also thought that slaves should be punished because they broke the law.

The Southerners said that the slaves had to be returned to them because the slaves were their property. Using the Underground Railroad as an escape route was against the law. Some Northerners didn’t want to give the slaves back because they believed in individual rights. They wanted to free the slaves, but the Fugitive Slave Law gave them no other choice. It was the law, and they had to obey it.

The Fugitive Slave Law was important in leading to the Civil War because it caused many arguments between Northerners and Southerners. The North was angry because the slaves could come into the Free states and still be slaves. So the Free states weren’t really Free states anymore.

The Disagreement: Will New States be allowed to Have Slavery?

The North didn’t want new states to allow slavery, but on the other hand, the South did. The North didn’t want to allow the new states to have slavery because they wanted to be stronger. Having more slave states would make the South stronger because slave states would have more votes in the House of Representatives. This was important in causing the Civil War because whenever a new state joined the United States, there would be a big argument whether that state would be a slave state or a free state.

Many things such as the Fugitive Slave Law, arguments about whether new states should be slave states, and the differences between the North and the South were all causes of the Civil War. After a lot of arguing, the South didn’t want to argue with the North anymore because they wanted to become their own nation, no matter what the North said. Then, the South decided to break away from the Union.

3. Compromise before Civil War

Three disagreements before the Civil War frustrated the North and South, causing them to become enemies. They got closer and closer to separating into two countries. There are the Three Fifths Compromise, the Missouri Compromise of 1820, And the Compromise of 1850. All three compromises were about the way slaves were used and if they would be set free or stay slaves. Some solutions to these compromises were to fight and some other ones are they would compromise until the north and the south felt happy about the decision. All these compromises led into the Civil War.

4. The Kansas-Nebraska Act

On May 30, 1854 the territories of Kansas and Nebraska wanted to become states. The only question left to be decided was whether they would have slavery or not. Stephen Arnold Douglas, the Democratic Senator of Illinois, strongly believed that the people of the territories should decide for themselves whether they wanted slavery. He sponsored the Kansas Nebraska bill and said that the question of slavery in Kansas and Nebraska would be left to the vote of the settlers. He called this principle popular sovereignty. The debate over the question of slavery in the territories became more of a problem than expected. Proslavery and antislavery groups fought many wars, each side wanting to gain control of Kansas so they could vote for it to become a slave state or a free state. These wars are known as “Bloody Kansas.” Neither side knew it, but with each day of fighting, they were getting a step closer to the Civil War. The act caused Northern abolitionists to fight against proslavery Southerners. Abolitionists are people that worked to get rid of slavery in the country. The act caused the Whig Party to split into northern and southern branches. The northern branch wanted to end slavery and the southern branch wanted slavery to continue. The Democratic Party was also divided into northern and southern branches, just like the Whig Party. When people in Missouri voted in Kansas, the proslavery Party won control, and Kansas was voted to become a slave state. Later, Kansas asked Congress for statehood as a slave state. Congress refused since Kansas was north of Missouri. This was because the Missouri Compromise said that all states above the Missouri Compromise line (the 36° 30° line) would have to be free states and anything below would have to be slave states. While the proslavery Party was upset and angry over this decision, the antislavery Party quickly took control of Kansas.A conflict soon developed in Kansas between proslavery settlers from Missouri and the antislavery newcomers. The fighting between the two groups continued for several years. Bloody Kansas, also known as Border War, was a conflict in Kansas territory between antislavery free staters and proslavery groups. The Antislavery Party was fighting for control of Kansas so they could vote for it to become a free state. The Antislavery Army led by John Brown, an abolitionist, wiped out the proslavery troops. John Brown led one famous battle on the settlers at Pottawatomie Creek. This attack was called the Pottawatomie Massacre and occurred in May 1856. Many other battles between the proslavery and antislavery settlers later became known as Bloody Kansas. In the end, the Antislavery Party ended up winning. When Kansas asked Congress for statehood as a free state, Congress agreed and Kansas and Nebraska both became free states.

Leading to the Civil War

The north and south argued and fought over the question of slavery each time a new state wanted to enter the Union. The south finally got so tired of all the fighting and arguing that they decided to break away from the U.S. and be their own country. Fighting over whether the south would be its own country finally started the Civil War.

5. The Dred Scott Decision

A major argument between the north and south was the Dred Scott decision. The Dred Scott decision was one of the most important court decisions in United States history. Dred Scott was a Missouri slave on a search for freedom. Dred Scott was not a normal slave, and he fought for a very long time to gain his freedom. This case was one of the biggest cases that led to the Civil War. It is believed that Mrs. Emerson hired out Dred Scott, Harriet, and their two children to work for other families. There are three ideas that might have influenced Dred Scott to sue at this time. First, he did not like being hired out. This may be because the Scotts were happy with John Emerson but not his wife, Irene. Another idea was that Mrs. Emerson might have been planning to sell him, or Dred might have tried to buy his freedom and was refused. These things might have upset the Scotts because they were happy doing work for one master but not many. Dred Scott and his wife, Harriet, filed a lawsuit against Irene Emerson for their freedom on April 6, 1846. Missouri courts believed in the statement of “once free always free.” The Scotts had lived in free territories for almost nine years. Dred’s minister, John Anderson, and the Blow family helped by paying for his lawyers. Their support lasted through the eleven years in court. Shortly after the trial of Dred Scott, he was bought and freed by the sons of his first owner, Peter Blow, on May 26, 1857. He was a free man until he died on February 17, 1858. The Dred Scott decision and then the Civil War helped bring about the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863. In 1865 the 13th Amendment legally ended slavery in the United States.

The Dred Scott Decision helped lead to the Civil War because it caused fighting between the North and South. The North was angry because people in the north had decided not to allow slavery in their states, and the Dred Scott decision allowed slaves to be brought into their states. Most southerners were happy with the decision because it allowed them to take slaves with them to free states and territories and reinforced the idea that slaves had no rights as U.S. citizens. Dred Scott’s case caused more trouble between the North and South.