ia_2009_d_james

=D. Analysis (500-650 words) Tips] The main body of the essay, answers the question=

In the 21st century, the debates surrounding slavery sadly remains alive. Whether it is young girls forced to work in brothels, or children working in sweat shops, wage slavery, or any other forms of modern day slavery, slavery still exists in the world. In this sense, the debates about it from the past, the process by which it was abolished, and the consequences which resulted, provide us with valuable lessons for the future.

Within the narrow confines of a study of the American Civil War, the role of slavery is a crucial topic because it was one of the main causes of the war. Slavery was a contentious issue in late 1800s America and the fact that it took a long, bloody civil war to end slavery so late into the 19th century compared to other countries (Britain ended slavery in 1833, France in 1848) [|[1]] shows how much Southern America depended on slavery. Without slavery, the South would not have been able to keep its agriculture based economy on par with the North’s industrial based economy. Burton writes that "producing and manufacturing [cotton] tied the North and South together commercially" [2], with Southern plantations providing Northern textile mills with cotton. Politics could be seen as a cause of the war. The South wielded political power because 3/5 of the slave population was counted when determining "Congressional apportionment" [|[]3], meaning that the South gained more clout in Congress. If more slave states were added to the nation, then the South would continue to enjoy political power. Many key government positions had been held by Southerners: the Supreme Court Chief Justice’s seat, and the position of speaker in the House of Representatives, for example. [4] Many Southerners were afraid that if an anti-slavery president was elected, he would pass legislation barring slavery from new states, thus limiting, and then destroying, Southern political power. Cultural differences could also be a reason for the war. Though the North was home to the abolitionist movement, not all were open to their message, and many abolitionists were attacked by mobs. Yet, "As powerful anti-abolitionists shut off avenues of expression in the press and in politics…the mood of northern pro-slavery sympathizers began to shift…the principles of free speech…were being whittled down by the pro-slavers…abolitionists conversely became the guardians of the great ideals of American liberty and freedom of expression." [5] Many in the North began to side with, or at least partially agree with, the ideas of the abolitionists, and this worried the South immensely. Southern society was built upon the idea of white male dominance: "[The South's] social order established the planter masters at the top, the slaves at the bottom, and the yeomanry in between." [6] Manning argues that "Slavery under girded white Southerners' convictions of their own superior moral orthodoxy." [7] If Northern abolitionists were able to enact emancipation, then blacks would be equal to whites, and that was neither acceptable nor believable for many white Southern people.

Slavery, however, was the defining cause of the Civil War. Slavery was the basis of the Southern economy, providing labor to harvest the cotton. Cotton was the basis of the Southern economy: "By 1830, the growth of cotton culture had become central to America's economic expansion." [8] Slavery was the basis of Southern political power, and was also the basis of their society. If slavery were to be outlawed, many Southerners feared that their entire world might collapse, leaving their economy in shambles, their political power gone, and their society shaken to its very foundations. Manning’s //What this Cruel War was over//, is a valuable source because Manning explores the economic, political, and cultural aspects of the war. However, its main limitation is that it does not look into the economic and political causes in depth. She focuses mainly on the cultural causes, and the war itself.

However, historians are not in agreement as to what was the main slavery related issue that caused the war. Burton argues that culture was the main cause: "Northerners and Southerners [saw the other as] different, unreasonable, and threatening" [9], whereas Stout argues that politics was the main cause: "The flashpoint was slavery and the issue of its expansion." [10]

694 words.

[|[1]  ]     Anonymous, The Struggle to end slavery. A timeline. http://www.dur.ac.uk/4schools/Slavery4/timeline.htm , VISITED ON August 13, 2008 [2]      Burton,       Orville Vernon       (2007). //The Age of Lincoln//. New York, Hill and Wang Publishing, pg. 23        [3]   Manning, Chandra (2007). //What This Cruel War Was Over//, New York, Vintage Books, pg. 24     [4]   Manning, Chandra (2007). //What This Cruel War Was Over//, New York, Vintage Books, pg. 24   [5]    Adès, Harry (2003). //The Little Book of the Civil War//. New York, Barnes & Noble, pg. 24    [6] Stout, Harry (2006). //Upon the Altar of the Nation//, New York, Penguin Group Inc., pg. 10 [7] Manning, Chandra (2007). //What This Cruel War Was Over//, New York, Vintage Books, pg. 32    [8]         Burton,        Orville Vernon        (2007). //The Age of Lincoln//. New York, Hill and Wang Publishing, pg. 22                   [9] Burton, Orville Vernon(2007). //The Age of Lincoln//. New York, Hill and Wang Publishing, pg. 78               [10] Stout, Harry (2006). //Upon the Altar of the Nation//, New York, Penguin Group Inc., pg. 1