Notes

Talia Vos
US History
Ms. Buhl
E Block


A Nation Divided

The civil war began in 1861, but tensions and the detachment between Americans began much earlier than April 12. The Nation was separated over a year before war broke out, it had became extremely apparent that there were two very different visions of America that resulted in enemies being made of the North and the South. The South seceded from the union in 1860 was due to the election of abraham lincoln, disagreements over where the power should lie in government and the rise of the abolitionist movement in the North. All of these factors eventually drove the United States to 1861, the beginning of the bloodiest four years in American history.

Abraham Lincoln assumed office in November of 1860, furthering the split between the North and the South. The 16th president won the majority vote of the electoral college but only forty percent of the popular vote, all from Northerner states. Lincoln managed to win the presidency without a single Southern elector and did not even appear on some Southern ballots. His victory sent a clear message to the South. Not only was their vote simply not strong enough, it was also the beginning of their rights being stripped away. Very soon after the action of disunion began, knowing the only way they could maintain their lives as they had known it was to break away. The South despised Lincoln as they were apprehensive he would threaten their way of life, specifically in regards to slavery. The Southern economy depended almost entirely on slavery and the abolition of that institution would have meant the end to the very backbone of the southern way of life. President Lincoln once addressed the South saying "You think slavery is right and should be extended, while we think it is wrong and should be limited. That, I suppose, is the trouble. It surely is the only important difference between us." By acknowledging where they differed in politics as well as in morality, Lincoln was only pushing the South further away. The pro- slavery South felt this difference was enough to create a divide. They feared Lincoln and other republicans in his party would take control of everything in the government, resulting in the end of slavery. A podcast titled “THE MAKING OF A NATION -- an American history series” touched on the Southern reaction to Linclons election, stating that “Too many of the people there (the South), Lincoln's victory was the final signal that ended the state's ties to the Union. To them, it was the beginning of Southern independence. In December, soon after Lincoln's election the South began to leave the Union over the issue of slavery.

In 1832 the North imposed new tariffs that greatly benefited Northern manufacturers but hurt Southern farming economies. This lead to South Carolina attempting to secede from the union for the first time, however they reached a tense compromise. In the 1860s when the Northern states refused to comply with laws that helped benefit the Southern economy, such as the fugitive slave law, the South felt as though their influence was waning. After the Mexican war, new territory was being considered to be added to the union. The debate over whether or not to count the new states as slave or free provided the South with an opportunity to gain back some political power and keep the federal government from becoming majority abolitionist. However after violence erupted in the newly added Kansas and Nebraska territories it was clear to both sides that no peaceful or political solution would be possible . The conflict between the North and South was exemplified by the ideological difference in where the power should lie. The South wished for a weak federal government and an abundance of power given to the states. This was appealing to Southern states because it insured the continuation of their slave based economy. The North however believed that society functioned best with a strong federal government due to their belief in free soil and labor which they saw slavery as an affront to. The Northerners viewed the South as conspiring to expand the influence of slavery and in turn hinder progress and opportunity, and therefore a strong federal government was the best way to stop the Southern advancement of the institution.
At the same time the South were succeeding, the North was peeking in abolitionist sentiment. Stories by ex-slaves were being brought to light and causing an uproar. Harriet Beecher Stowes novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin makes such an impact that 300,000 copies were sold within the first three months of it being published. She tells about the horror and disturbing truths of slavery as well as naming the hypocrisy of the entire institution of slavery. Stowe writes, "...the enslaving of the African race is a clear violation of the great law which commands us to love our neighbor as ourselves.” Frederick Douglass, an escaped slave and brilliant orator provided a clear counterexample to the Southern slave owners narrative of the inferiority of the slave population. Douglass once said “war for the destruction of liberty, must be met with war for the destruction of slavery. The simple way, then, to put an end to the savage and desolating war now waged by slaveholders, is to strike down slavery itself, the primal cause of that war.” This illustrated his ideas on slavery and views towards the South Given his and other avid abolitionist voices proximity and influence on the political process, the South feared the North was too heavily swayed by anti slavery opinions.

The war to end slavery began considerably before the first battle. Tensions had been on the rise for a great deal of time before the North and the South officially waged war on eachother. Abolitionist sentiments had been growing in the North due to stories of the horrors of slavery which resonated on a moral level with many of the Northerners. The fundamental ideological differences between the northern and southern views on government spurred great suspicion and hate on both sides as the issue of slavery grew more and more contentious. Finally, The threat of a complete upheaval of the Southern way of life was exemplified by the election of 1860. This was the final straw for the South, causing their near immediate rebellion.