Reasons for the American Civil War?
Many today discern that although the south is completely integrated, with many Presidents being born in the civil war southern states. Some are still unconsciously or not, fighting for the same issues of the American Civil War, which raged from Friday, April 12, 1861, and ended on Tuesday, April 9, 1865. The concept that: "all men are created equal", appears to remain an anathema to them and their cohorts worldwide.
The quotation or creed meaning that people hold certain inalienable rights that are innate in all human beings, according to the Constitutional Rights Foundation. This stems from the idea of natural rights, meaning humans are naturally free to make their choices and prosper. Natural rights were popular notions during the Age of Enlightenment in the 18th century. These words can be found in the Declaration of Independence of 1776.
'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the of the governed. That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.'
A common assumption to explain the cause of the American Civil War was that the North was no longer willing to tolerate slavery as being part of the fabric of US society and that the political power brokers in Washington were planning to abolish slavery throughout the Union. Therefore for many people, slavery is the key issue to explain the causes of the American Civil War. However, it is not as simple as this and slavery, while a major issue, was not the only issue that pushed American into the ‘Great American Tragedy’. By April 1861, slavery had become inextricably entwined with state rights, the power of the federal government over the states, the South’s ‘way of life’ etc. – all of which made a major contribution to the causes of the American Civil War.
John Brown was a white radical abolitionist who believed in the violent overthrow of the slavery system. During the Bleeding Kansas conflicts, Brown and his sons led attacks on pro-slavery residents. Justifying his actions as the will of God, Brown soon became a hero in the eyes of Northern extremists and was quick to capitalise on his growing reputation. By early 1858, he had succeeded in enlisting a small “army” of insurrectionists whose mission was to foment rebellion among the slaves. In 1859, Brown and 21 of his followers attacked and occupied the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry. Their goal was to capture supplies and use them to arm a slave rebellion. Brown was captured during the raid and later hanged, but not before becoming an anti-slavery icon.
Back around the time that northern Christians, abolitionists, free blacks, anti-slavery activists and Kansas landowners first formed the Republican party, John Brown, an abolitionist and Baptist preacher, gave his life to put an end to slavery. During the civil war northern soldiers sang this song as they marched off to battle. After "Julia Ward Howe" heard Union troops singing this, *the original (published December 1861 in the Chicago Tribune) version of the song, she wrote her words to its tune. Soon after, her version was published February 1862 in the "Atlantic Monthly" as "The Battle Hymn Of The Republic".
By 1860 America could not be seen as being a homogenous society. Clearly defined areas could be identified that had different outlooks and different values. This was later to be seen in the North versus South divide that created the two sides in the war.
The South was an agricultural region where cotton and tobacco were the main backbones to the region’s economic strength. The area relied on exports to markets in Western Europe and the class structure that could be found in the UK, for example, was mimicked in the southern states. The local plantation owner was a ‘king’ within his own area and locals would be deferential towards such men. The whole structure was portrayed in ‘Gone With The Wind’; a strictly Christian society that had men at the top while those underneath were expected and required to accept their social status. Social advancement was possible but invariably it was done within the senior families of a state, who were the economic, political and legal brokers of their state on behalf of the people in that state. Within this structure was the wealth that these families had accrued.
It cannot be denied that a huge part of this wealth came from the fact that the plantation owners oriented the work on their plantations around slave labour. As abhorrent as it may be to most in the 21st Century, slavery was simply seen as part of the southern way of life. Without slavery, the economic clout of these premier families would have been seriously dented and those they employed and paid – local people who would have recognised how important the local plantation owner was to their own well-being – simply accepted this as ‘how it is’. When the dark clouds of war gathered in 1860-61, many in the South saw their very way of life is threatened. Part of that was slavery but it was not the only part.
White entitlement, as still seen today, became worse when the perception in the South was that the North would try to impose its values on the South.
Causes of the American Civil War
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