Preview

How Did Slavery Affect The Civil War

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1067 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
How Did Slavery Affect The Civil War
ith the invention of the cotton gin by Eli Whitney and throughout the addition of many new territories in the United States, the issue of slavery had never been so prominent and controversial in the states. Due to the Fugitive Slave Act that forced citizens to assist in capture of runaway slave, idea of citizens deciding whether territories would be free or slave states - known as popular soveirgnty, as well as the varying interpretations of the constitution, especially on the subject of slavery, there was great discord and sectionalism in the United States. This ultimately had a major impact on Southern Succession and the start of the civil war.
The nation began rapidly expanding throughout the 19th century and many new states such as Utah,
…show more content…
Document H, President Davis’s message to southern confederate shows that the constitution doesn’t include information on the idea of separate and independent states, and is unable to prevent “the rise and growth” of states. Due to this reason and many others, there was nothing in the Constitution that was unable to stop the southern states from succeeding from the union. Furthermore, the constitution also contains amendments that gives states powers not explicitly expressed in the constitution, contributing to their succession and the justification of slavery. Document H is bias because President Davis is the president of the southern states that succeeded from the union, therefore is pro-slavery and a states rights advocate. Additionally, in Document I, Lincoln’s message to congress shows that the succession was done in logical order and there is not much in the constition that provides Lincoln with the power to prevent the succession. However, there is nothing that gives the southern states greater power than the northern states, especially the power to “lawfully destroy the union itself.” Lincoln’s message is bias towards the southern states because he was a president elected on anti-slavery in the new territories and many views, contrary to those of the south, which cause him to condemn their act of succession. Lastly, Document B, Emerson’s address on The Fugitive Slave Act blatantly asserted that the union is unable to remain unified, if an immoral law is enacted. This statement truly shows that the constitution became a source of sectional discord and tension, contributing to the failure of the

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    1987 DBQ

    • 601 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Due to how long ago the Constitution was written there are many issues and problems that are not stated in it or do not pertain to the time period. This causes tension and sectional discord among the states and eventually led to the separation of the Union. Document D shows how the Fugitive Slave Law is immoral and wrong. “…as soon as the Constitution ordains an immoral law, it ordains disunion,” meaning that if there is a law that is wrong in the Constitution it goes straight to disunion instead of amending the law. In Document G the only way to keep the Union together would have been to amend the Constitution because it didn’t include…

    • 601 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    From Slavery To freedom by John Hope Franklin, in chapter 7 the first topic that was brought up was King Cotton. In the domestic slave trade, which took place from 1808-1865. It talked about how technology supported expansion of slave labor. Eli Whitney`s 1794 intervention of the cotton gin. In Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama rapidly grew with the demand for cotton and sugarcane. Growing prosperity in new states caused wave of migrants and greater demand for slaves. This demand resulted in: acquisition of Florida, admission of Missouri as slave state, annexation of Texas, and war of Mexico.…

    • 384 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    This invention changed the way the South functioned, and the ripple effect it created changed the course of history forever. The ripple effect caused by Eli Whitney's cotton gin can be seen as the driving force behind many of the conflicts between North and South, and eventually culminating in the Civil War. Before Eli Whitney's invention, slavery was dying in the South. The price of tobacco had plummeted, and planters were freeing slaves because of the high cost of feeding, housing and clothing them. When Eli Whitney introduced his invention the cotton market exploded. Cotton began to be grown in enormous quantities because it was good for making clothes, and with the invention of the cotton gin easier to produce. This explosion in the growth of the cotton market rejuvenated the slave trade. This time, though, the slave trade was not…

    • 1800 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Compromise Of 1850 DBQ

    • 735 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Constitution contributed to the failure of the union because it did not acknowledge slavery which lead to tensions between the Northerners who wanted to abolish it, and the Southerners who considered it an economic necessity. In Document B, a Georgian says that “the constitution does not recognize slavery where it exists”, which proves that the Constitution did not mention slavery or formally…

    • 735 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Civil War was an extremely messy and complicated event in American History. While there are several factors that led to the Southern states to secede from the Union, it is historically impossible to pinpoint the last bullet fired. Moreover, in academia there is a barrage of opinions on what was the deciding factor for the Civil War; one thing it is evident is that there was animosity between both sides since the inception of the United States. Additionally, one has to examine the proposed amendments to the Constitution before the Civil War to notice that the jargon used never used the word ‘slavery.’ For instance, in February 1861, Representative Thomas Corwin proposed his and amendment that barred his last name to the 36th Congress that guaranteed the seceding states that the federal government would not intervene with the particular domestic institutions; however, the word slavery was never used in the document. Stipulating that the amendment had passed, the 13th Amendment to the Constitution would have been unconstitutional, and the banning of slavery would never have occurred.…

    • 300 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Atlantic slave trade is considered to be the largest and most revolting forced migration of human beings to ever be recorded. The migrations, which totaled approximately twelve to fifteen million Africans, sailed across the Atlantic to work in fields, mines, and many other places between the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries. Slavery around this time was not uncommon, therefore not looked down upon by most societies. This took away the moral disadvantage of slavery, and looked towards the potential opportunities. The people in Europe could rarely receive a profit from European-grown crops.…

    • 900 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    As tobacco became a major cash crop in America, many people who cultivated the crop had to rely on heavy labor to harvest. At first there was an abundant increase of immigration towards America because of the Head Right Act. This allowed people to be able to work for landowners, usually having to do labor for an X amount of years. These people were called indentured servants, they provided labor in exchange for freedom or land so they can establish their new life in the settlements. Indentured servants set the ideology up for upcoming generations of people migrating towards the western world.…

    • 624 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    A slave is a person who is the legal property of another and is forced to obey them. Slavery in America began in 1614 in Jamestown, Virginia. By the year 1800 about four million slaves labored the southern states in the United States. In the north, slave labor was used until the 1800’s but cooler climate and shorter growing seasons discouraged the development of such crops as tobacco or cotton. Many people believe that slavery was the cause of the American Civil War.…

    • 134 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Before the late 18th century, slavery was expected to become unprofitable and demise quickly. Many slave owners, including Thomas Jefferson, were even speaking openly of freeing their slaves. Either way, slavery was seen as a dying trend. By 1793, however, all of those predictions were shattered. Eli Whitney’s invention of the cotton gin had changed everything, deeply affecting the economic, political, and social lives of the American people.…

    • 531 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    First Point: The South seceded from the Northern states because the Southerner's felt that slavery was necessary to their economy.…

    • 105 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Slavery was a commonly debated issue during the early 1800’s. The issue of slavery caused individuals to question if slavery was against the Constitution. Slavery slowly was dying out in America, most prominently in the North, but when Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin, the hope of slavery dying out in the South ended. Slaves were now a very important part of Southern economy, because unlike the industrialized North, the main source of income for the South was cotton farmed by thousands of slaves on plantations.…

    • 227 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Constitution Dbq

    • 577 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Constitution was originally thought of as an instrument of national unity, but by the 1850s, that thought was debatable. The document was interpreted differently in the North than in the South, which naturally created tensions. The North and the South’s argument was whether or not slavery was constitutional. The Constitution did not say anything upfront about slavery, which caused problems and confusion. However, the Constitution was not a source of sectional discord, and it did not contribute to failure of the union it had created.…

    • 577 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Cotton Gin Impact

    • 723 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The creation of the cotton gin, by Eli Whitney was significant in history because it gigantically impacted the african american slaves in america’s lives, dramatically increased the number and use of slaves, and sparked a series of events of the course of 68 years that eventually led up to the start of the civil war.…

    • 723 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Constitution of The United States of America was intended to be a source of national unity; however it never fully clarified the issue of slavery. By the 1850’s there were many different interpretations of the Constitution that led to much social discord within the country. Much of this social discord came from different opinions of whether the Constitution promoted unity or ultimately would lead to secession. Constitutional add-ons such as the 3/5 Compromise and popular sovereignty were used to promote unity, while events such as the Compromise of 1850, the Kansas- Nebraska Act and poor leadership from Presidents Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce and James Buchanan led to secession in 1861.…

    • 989 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    When the Europeans where ashore, waiting to collect Africans for slavery on their boats, they used various techniques to persuade individuals and tribes onto their boat. They would stand on the shore ad display brightly coloured cloths and decorated beads; as these items were unfamiliar with the Africans and attracted them towards captivity.…

    • 436 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays