ia_2009_b_james

In 1861 slavery was clearly an issue which was dividing America. The North, which was comprised of all states above the Mason-Dixon line (All states above Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri), was based on industry. Slavery was not profitable in the North’s industry-based economy, and there was some unease as to whether it was morally acceptable: "How could a nation that declared all men equal...exploit 4 million slaves?" [1]

The South was comprised of the states of below the Mason-Dixon line, was based on agriculture, and depended on slaves to get work done. The creation of the cotton gin in 1793 made slave plantations economically viable, and they were, selling over ¾ of the world’s cotton. Adès writes "The market value of slaves alone was $3 billion", so it is no wonder Southerners favored slavery. [2]

Events related to slavery as early as 1819 set America down the path to war. When the territory of Missouri was to become a state, politicians were unsure as to whether make it a slave holding or not. The “Missouri Compromise” was reached, making Missouri a slave holding state “with the condition that no other slave states should be allowed north of the parallel that made Missouri’s southern border.” Many people though that this would solve the tensions related to slavery, but ex-president John Adams called it “the title page to a great, tragic volume.” [3] Such a compromise only held off debate about slavery, and tensions would increase as the United States expanded westward.

In August 1831, a slave, Nat Turner, led an armed uprising in southern Virginia, killing at least 55 white people over the course of 10 days. [4] He was eventually caught, and executed on November 11. However, his uprising sent waves of fear throughout the white Southern community. About 200 innocent blacks were murdered by mobs. [5] The plethora of abolitionist newspapers such as //The Liberator// also caused alarm. Abolitionists were attacked, and some were murdered by mobs: "The abolitionist cause gained its first martyr in 1837, the anti-slavery publisher Elijah Lovejoy", who was shot by a mob in the North. [6] Congress, aware that slavery was a divisive issue, passed a “gag rule” in 1835 forbidding the topic of slavery to be raised into question. [7]

In 1846, America declared war on Mexico. In May 1848, a peace treaty was signed. [8] America found itself in possession of a huge amount of territory, and the debate on whether slavery should be expanded into those territories began. The “Compromise of 1850” solved the problem temporarily.

In 1854, the Senate passed the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which created those two states. The choice of being a pro-slavery or anti-slavery would be up to the settlers. Thousands of armed settlers from both sides went to the territories, and guerilla warfare soon sprang up. By 1861, the abolitionists had the upper hand, and in January, "Just as the great Civil War was a-kindling, that Territory was admitted into the Union as a free labor state."[9]

In October 1859, "The fanatical abolitionist, John Brown, came east from Kansas and attempted to foment a slave uprising in northern Virginia" in the town of Harpers Ferry. [10] His group of men took control of the armory and engine house and took hostages. However, the local militia was summoned by an alarm, and Brown’s group fled to the engine house. After two days a company of Marines stormed the building and captured Brown. Brown and 6 of his men, was executed in December. [11]

Elections were held 1860, and Abraham Lincoln was elected. The fact that he belonged to the anti-slavery Republican Party alarmed many slave-owning Southerners, and "on December 20, a specially selected [South Carolina] state convention unanimously adopted an ordinance of secession". [12] The war had begun. 623 words -             -                                                           [1]  Adès, Harry (2003). //The Little Book of the Civil War//. New York, Barnes & Noble, pg. 8 [2]  ibid. pg. 15 [3]  ibid. pg. 25 [4]    Burton,        Orville     Vernon                  (2007). //The Age of Lincoln//. New York, Hill and Wang Publishing, pg.19 [5] Anonymous, //Nat Turner's Rebellion,// http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part3/3p1518.html, visited on May 22, 2008 [6] Adès, Harry (2003). //The Little Book of the Civil War//. New York, Barnes & Noble, pg.22 [7] Anonymous, //Gag Rule//, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gag_Rule, visited on May 22, 2008 [8] Anonymous, Mexican-American War, http://www.nps.gov/archive/fosc/mexican.htm, visited on May 22, 2008 [9] Lossing, Ben son (1996) //Illustrated History of the Civil War//, New York, Portland House, pg. 22 [10] Roth, David (1992). //The// //Civil War//. New York, Smithmark Publishers, pg.1 [11] Anonymous, http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USASharpers.htm, visited on May 23, 2008 [12]Stout, Harry (2006). //Upon the Altar of the Nation//, New York, Penguin Group Inc., pg. 9