Before the Civil war, the political power in Federal Government, placed in Washington D.C., was changing. The North and Mid-West states were becoming more and more powerful, as the population increased; because of this the Southern States were losing their political power. The Southern states felt a growing need for freedom from the central Federal authority in Washington D.C. They wanted the states to have the right to make their own laws. This issue was called “State’s Rights”. Some states were going this far and wanted to secede, or break away from the United States of America and govern themselves.
Another quarrel between the North and South, I would say the most emotional one, was over slavery. Farming was the South’s main industry and cotton was their primary farm product. They haven’t had machines, so it took a great amount of human labour to pick the cotton. A large number of slaves were used in the South to provide the labour. Many slaves were also used to provide labour for various household chores that needed to be done. Many of the Northerners took the opinion that it was wrong to own slaves, for any reason. Some of those Northerners disagreed loudly with the South’s laws and beliefs concerning slavery, there existed some organisation, which were fighting for the rights of the black slaves in the South, a very important one has been the abolitionists. The most members of the abolitionists were newspaper editors or religious leader, but there were just a few politicians like Senator Edwin Sumner of Massachusetts. Yet for over 200 years slavery had been a part of the Southern way of life and it was going on well. Further the Constitution of the United States of America allowed the Southerners to own slaves. The Constitution guaranteed the right to own property and protected against seizure of property and a slave counted as property. The Southern States did not like to be told from the Northern States that owning slaves was a great wrong. The Southerners felt directly attacked, because it was a major part of the way of Southern life and represent it as well. So the Southerners felt that what is representing them was fought.
Another aspect about the out broke of the Civil War, was the publishment of the book “Tom’s Cabin” from Harriet Beecher Stowe on 20th March 1852. It is about a life of a slave, Tom, in the South, it is written in a negative way about the slave owning in the South. It is attacking the South again, very successful. This book became a sort of bible for the abolitionists. The public caught it up, and in a few days ten thousand copies were in the hands of eager reader. Before the year was put, three hundred thousand copies had been sold. The book has been very important in the pre-Civil-War time and strengthen the conflict. When Abraham Lincoln met the author Harriet Beecher Stowe, he is reported to have said “So this is the little lady that started that big war!”
The political leaders of the South such as Robert Barnwell Rhett of South Carolina or William Lowndes Yancey of Alabama recognizes that her entire socio-economic system would probably collapse, without slaves. For example they must pay wages to the slaves, similar to the wages of the white workers.
The firstly aspect of slavery were handled as an economic issue, the moral aspect was just secondly important. This is shown through a series of legislative actions, like the Missouri Compromise of 1820, which decided over the new territories, whether they become slaves states or not. The South had an economic interest to spread slavery to the new territories, so that the new slave states could be created and the South’s political influence would remain strong. The North had an interest in limiting the spread of slavery for both the purpose controlling the Southern political power and for the moral issue. The Missouri Compromise prohibited slavery north of the parallel 36°30 in the Louisiana Purchase.
The argument between North and South, the argument about slavery got bigger in 1854, because of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, sponsored by Democrat Stephen A. Douglas. It brought slavery in the forefront of national attention. The Kansas-Nebraska Act eliminated the Missouri Compromise and made it possible for slavery to be introduces in virtually any new territory. Kansas-Nebraska caused a firestorm to erupt in the North, awaking many people to the danger of the potential spread of slavery. Moderate politicians such as Abraham Lincoln became active in the cause of fighting both the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the spread of slavery.
Abraham Lincoln was elected President of the United States in 1860. He vowed to the keep the country united and the western territories free from slavery. Many Southerners were afraid of not being treated fairly and that he wouldn’t be sympathy with their way of life. South Carolina was the first state, which secede from the United States, soon after the election. Six other states followed quickly and also secede.
Although the majority of the American people wanted to avoid the Civil War and were content to allow slavery to die a slow death, the most influential political leaders of these days were not. On the Southern side there were Rhett and Yancey, who were willing to make war to guarantee the propagation of their “right” to own slaves, On the Northern side there were abolitionists like John Brown and Henry Ward Beecher who were willing to make war in order to put an immediate end to the institution of slavery.
These leaders through their words or actions were able to convince the majority that it was necessary to got to war.
So – was the war absolutely about slavery? Yes it was, but not only about slavery, the Civil war was caused by a myriad of conflicting pressures, principles, and prejudices, fuelled by sectional differences and pride, and set into motion by a most unlikely set of political events. The arguments , which were growing over all these years and the not understanding between the North and South for their different ways of life, combined and created a big muddle of anger, misunderstanding and the will of succeed over each other. So it was just a question of time until the South secedes from the United States. Because of the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860, the stowed anger of the Southern states exploded and the war started. The election was just the catalyst for the arguments I have mentioned above.
