Civil War the Great Divide - 814 Words

The Great Divide The issue of slavery was discussed in many ways. People talked about the morality of the institution (or lack thereof), the economics of slavery, and the political issues that came about because of it. No matter how it was discussed, the North and South could not agree. Northerners thought Southerners were corrupting the soul of America, and Southerners thought Northerners were hypocrites. No matter which way they looked at slavery, the North and South had two antithetical views that could not coexist in the same country. The first issue that comes up when thinking about slavery is morality. Many Northerners were ignorant of what slavery really meant until escaped slaves moved north and told their stories—stories†¦show more content†¦The South also pitched the idea of the plantation as a happy home. When Jefferson Davis responded to the Emancipation Proclamation he called slaves â€Å"peaceful and contented laborers.† Slavery was an obsolete and antiquate d labor source. It provided cheap but inefficient labor and even though it was America’s biggest source of capital, it was holding America back. The North saw this much better than the South. Politicians had been arguing over slavery since the foundation of America (the 3/5 Compromise in the Constitution). When the cotton gin was invented, plantation owners started to buy more land in the territories in order to grow more cotton. There were two issues that slavery brought up the most: the balance of North/South power and expansion. Political debates were rarely about the actual slaves. Arguments over the expansion of slavery in new states resulted in compromises that solved nothing. Compromises like The Missouri Compromise and the Compromise of 1850 solved very little and made people on both sides angry. Northerners were especially startled by the Fugitive Slave Act from the Compromise of 1850. It said, â€Å"all good citizens are hereby commanded to aid and assistâ⠂¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬  People in the north could not believe that arresting a fugitive slave with out having a warrant was being a â€Å"good citizen.† They were insulted. The Compromise of 1850 also madeShow MoreRelatedEssay On American History714 Words   |  3 Pageswords, to reassure that they are the â€Å"right† side. It seems that our country, once embodying hope simply through its name, has grown a divide that even the Grand Canyon couldn’t hope to be compared to. However, this does not mean that the United States is falling apart, and all hope is to be lost in the noise. In fact, this country has a vast history of great divides, that at the time seemed cataclysmic, and in the end resulted in a stronger, more diverse nation. First and foremost, the United StatesRead MoreCauses Of The Civil War1740 Words   |  7 PagesThe Civil War was not an event that erupted overnight or something that no one had seen coming. It was a result of long stemming conflicts. â€Å"The road to civil war was complex and multi-faceted† (Wells, 1). These conflicts kept creating a divide amongst the states in the nation. The divide finally became so great, that the United States split into the Confederacy (South) and the Union (North), and fighting erupted. â€Å" â€Å"The Civil War,† Randall Jimerson observes, â€Å"became a total war involving the entireRead MoreThe Annexation Of Texas And The United States928 Words   |  4 Pagesfollowing the civil war not everyone shared the same views. Throughout the country, people had different thoughts on Texas, and what should be done with the new found territory. Whether it was people of the north looking to prevent another slave state from acquiring statehood, or slave owning people of the south trying to gain leverage in the House of Representatives, people had differing opinions on the topic of Texas. The debate over Texas acquiring statehood was representative of the divide betweenRead MoreOstracism And Discrimination953 Words   |  4 Pagesdifferent skin color than them. One huge issue that contributes to the the nation being deeply divided is that discrimination still exists, with people holding opposing views simply because of their race. As shown in these texts, one way discrimination divides the nation is because it leads to ostracism and segregation. In the first few paragraphs of A Quilt of a Country, Quindlen describes how our nation is full of bigotry when she lists different forms of discrimination, â€Å"Slavery and sweatshops, the burningRead MoreThe Civil War Was A Devastating Time For The United States Of America883 Words   |  4 PagesThe Civil War was a devastating time for the United States of America. During this time the United States was divided. The Civil War was a four year long battle. It is known as one of the bloodiest battles ever fought. Consequently it was fought between people of the same country. We were divided between the North and the South. The cause of the Civil War was slavery. The North was against it and wanted slavery abolished. On the other hand the South did not want to part with slavery. Both the NorthRead MoreMany Connections Can Be Made Between The Jewish People932 Words   |  4 Pagessettled into their new home without civil problems up until the early 1700’s. For both, the Jewish people and Americans, Civil War struck their countries. In America, people divided to form the Union, and the Confederacy. They divided and fought for the institution of slavery. This War lasted from 1861 until 1865. The Union Army won the War, achieving their goal towards an anti-slavery United States. However, slavery did not just diminish because of the verdict of the War. Slavery did not completely stopRead MoreThe Spanish Civil War: A Microcosm of the Polarization of European Politics1566 Words   |  7 PagesTo what extent did the Spanish Civil War represent a microcosm of the polarization of European politics between the Right and the Left? The Spanish Civil War is the name given to the struggle between loyalist and nationalist Spain for dominance in which the nationalists won and suppressed the country for the following thirty nine years. However, because of the larger political climate that the Spanish Civil War occurred in, it is impossible to view the war as a phenomenon contained within oneRead MoreThe Battle Of The Civil War1575 Words   |  7 PagesThe Civil war may have been destined to occur and not avoided, as it was the deadliest war in American History. Even the great President Abraham Lincoln tried to avoid the war, but failed ultimately. An analysis of the events that led to the secession of the southern states and the start of the civil war revealed the differences between the North and South. The outcome of the states seceding is a pivotal moment in American History that showed the true divide and is one of the most important historicalRead MoreThe Main Cause Of The Breakup Of The Union1628 Words    |  7 Pagestensions, and political alignments. Combined, all of these conflicts, with slavery at the root, led to the conflicts in the nation that started the Civil War. The issue of slavery caused conflict regarding new territories, economic stratification, and political turmoil. All of these tensions served to divide the nation, North against South, to start the Civil War. Slavery, in itself, was the most predominant reason for the breakup of the Union. It fundamentally divided the Free northern states and theRead MoreShort Term and Long Term Causes of the Civil War Essay978 Words   |  4 Pagesmany long-term causes and short term causes that aided and pushed forward the impending Civil War. The short term causes, however, were the most effective because they happened quickly and completely divided the nation in half. The causes were not only rapid and influential, but they were also all the consequences of the prior, creating an exponential rampage of divergence which led the country straight to Civil War. These short term causes were (in order of first to following): The Kansas Nebraska Act