When it comes to civil war, people and different sects have opposing views. Many think that this war was basically fought to save the Union, or also called United States, while others say that the main reason behind the war was slavery. This research work shows that the main reason behind the war was to save the union. It is true that when this war began, the slave families were expanding by the minute. They were also the main source for the economy of the southern states. Lincoln was against this issue and it did cause havoc at that time but this research work shows that the main agenda of civil war was to end the conflict between the two states, not slavery.
American Civil War began in 1861 and lasted for four years, ending its toll in 1865. The war began when Abraham Lincoln was appointed the president of America. The southern states were not in the favor of Lincoln and this was one of the first reasons that arguments broke in between the North and South. Moreover he was strictly against slavery and wanted to create a world free of this hideous flaw and wanted to bring about financial, social and economic modernization. However, many times his views also confused the people because indirectly he did convey the message that whites were a superior race. Moreover, he also thought that though slavery was a flaw and should be eliminated from every religion, he also though that it would be impossible for the blacks and whites to live together.
Gates in his article, “Was Lincoln a racist” writes: “Known as the Great Emancipator, Lincoln was a complicated figure who wrestled with his own views on race. Lincoln's primary audience was white voters. Lincoln's views on slavery, race equality, and African American colonization are often intermixed. During the 1858 debates with Stephen Douglas, Lincoln expressed his contemporary view that he believed whites were superior to blacks. Lincoln stated he was against miscegenation and blacks to serve as jurors. While President, as the American Civil War progressed, Lincoln advocated or implemented anti-racist policies including the Emancipation Proclamation and limited suffrage for African Americans. Generations through changing times have interpreted independently Lincoln's views on African Americans.”
When he raised the issue of slavery many southern states took offence because they did not want to highlight this flaw, which was a main feature of their land. Therefore beginning from 1861, the crucial period began among United States and the southern states. Later, during the war, Lincoln’s policies were negated by everyone. Larry Tag in his book writes: “Radical Republicans demanded harsher treatment of the South, War Democrats desired more compromise, Copperheads despised him, and irreconcilable secessionists plotted his death.”
While all the parties turned against him, he fought back with courage. James Randall writes: “Politically, Lincoln fought back with patronage, by pitting his opponents against each other, and by appealing to the American people with his powers of oratory.”
In the same article it is also stated that Lincoln wanted to save the union and in doing so, he said that if he could demolish slavery, he would try his level best in doing so. But on the bass of this it can be proved that them main reason behind this civil war was the union, not slavery. However, this issue did get a lot of limelight during the war, because the states were southern and those stats have the maximum number of slaves. It is stated in the article, “Slavery in Civil War”: “The extent of slave escapes in the South and the burden it placed upon the Union presented a major dilemma for President Lincoln. From the moment the conflict began at Fort Sumter, Lincoln's foremost goals had been to preserve the Union, to bring the war to an end with a minimum of bloodshed, and to avoid lingering animosity between Northern and Southern whites. If that could best be achieved by preserving slavery, he said, he would do so; if it could be achieved by freeing every slave, he would do that instead. Lincoln despised slavery, but he, like Thomas Jefferson and many others before him, doubted that blacks and whites could ever live in America in a condition of equality.”
Moreover, as Martin Kelly, in his article “Top five causes of Civil War’, suggests that the southern sate turned against Lincoln because they thought that Lincoln was anti slavery and was in favor of the northern sates. That is why many southern states like Georgia, South Carolina, Mississippi, Texas and Alabama were not even in the favor of electing Lincoln as their president. The economical situation also added fuel to the overall scenario. The economy of the northern states was based on industries and agriculture while that of South was base on plantations, cotton, cheap labor and slaves. The northern states even bought cotton from the South and made products out of it which meant that their financial condition kept on getting better and better. The southern states also claimed that the northern states were trying to push them into an agricultural colony by setting up new techniques and ways.
Martin Kelly writes: “Another issue that further increased tensions was the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854. It created two new territories that would allow the states to use popular sovereignty to determine whether they would be free or slave. The real issue occurred in Kansas where proslavery Missourians began to pour into the state to help force it to be slave. They were called "Border Ruffians." Problems came to a head in violence at Lawrence Kansas. The fighting that occurred caused it to be called “Bleeding Kansas”. The fight even erupted on the floor of the senate when antislavery proponent Charles Sumner was beat over the head by South Carolina's Senator Preston Brooks.”
The issue of slavery was one of the issues of civil war but that was not the main reason behind it. But due to this war, slavery was exterminated throughout America. Phil Allard in his article, “Secession of the Southern States: Preservation of the Union v. Formation of the Confederacy”, writes: “The differences between North and South could be resolved only through war. The impact of the Civil War was enormous. As a result of the North's victory, slavery was eradicated once and for all throughout the U.S., by virtue of Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 and the 13th Amendment, ratified on December 6, 1865, which outlawed slavery. Also, because most of the fighting took place in the South, the region was left devastated, and in dire economic and social straits. In the immediate aftermath of the war, the nation would have to begin the process of rebuilding the South and healing long-standing divisions through the process of Reconstruction.”
Therefore war was inevitable as the northern and southern states were not ready to accommodate one another. It would be wrong to blame Lincoln for every issue, as he was being blamed at that time. He tried his best to resolve some of the matters through his oratory skills but later everything got out of hand and one of the most ferocious battles was fought in the history of the world. Phil Allard goes on to write in his article: “Problems between the Northern and Southern states of the U.S. kept mounting through the first half of the 19th century. The issue of slavery was a critical factor that drove a wedge between the two sides. Because of the agrarian nature of the Southern way of life, the South was largely dependent on slave labor to sustain its economy. Southerners saw Northern resistance to slavery as a direct threat to their existence. As a result of what they considered to be unconstitutional intervention from a hostile central power, which manifested itself in excessive taxation and the election of a president whom they considered to be anti-Southern, the Southern states voted to leave the Union. The goal of secession, then, was simply to create a confederation of independent local states. Many Southerners viewed their bold move as a Second American Revolution.”
Brian Tubbs, in his article, “ Causes of Secession: Why the South left the Union” writes “Modern-day defenders of the South go too far in asserting that the South was right. While some of the northern states were technically in violation of the fugitive slave clause, this hardly rose to the standard for revolution set by the Founders in the Declaration of Independence. If anyone's "unalienable rights" were being violated, it was those of the slave, and not the southern plantation ownerNevertheless, detractors of the South are too quick to issue blanket condemnations of the Civil War era southern people. Most people in that day did not step outside of their respective situation to objectively evaluate the issues like 21st century armchair quarterbacks can do. What most southern families were focused on were the Union armies moving through their lands.”
Keeping this in mind, it can be said that Civil War’s main agenda was to end the rift between the two states and in doing so another main issue, that of slavery, also got resolved. Many people think that this war was mainly fought because of slavery but the actual reason was to recreate the unity between the two states. But this misconception has been created because some of the countries and even northern state was fixated on this issue. South wanted to project North as the villain and the North was adamant on doing so with the southern states.
Therefore it would be wrong to pronounce slavery as the main reason behind the vicious and violent American Civil War. Just because Lincoln despised slavery does not mean that one goes on to think that slavery was the reason this war was fought. Moreover, as described earlier, Lincoln also thought that whites were superior and if the past was any indication, black and whites would not be able to reside peacefully. On the basis of these saying, it can be said that his first objective was not to condemn slavery, though he was able to do it during the war. The social, economic, financial and politic scenario of the northern states and southern states of the United States of America led to this war as the problems could not be handled by the officials any longer.
This research paper has thus proved the fact that slavery was neither the cause nor a main issue of the American Civil War. The main reason was to bring the two states together but in doing so the issue of slavery was resolved as after the war it was nearly eradicated. And those who did keep slaves were charged and many laws were also introduced to keep the slavery in check. However Lincoln’s policies were still not accepted by a big part of either of the states and he was assassinated in 1865, when the civil war ended. Many states like Georgia, Texas and Mississippi began secession even before World War began because they thought that North was fixated on their slavery issue and was presenting them in the wrong light. But the whole set of issues led to the War and one of the most brutal battles was fought in history.
Bibliography
Allard, Phil. Issues and Controversies in American History, "Civil War: Secession of the Southern States Preservation of the Union v. Formation of the Confederacy." Last modified 2006. Accessed December 18, 2012. .
Ayer, Edward L. The New York Times, "The Causes of the Civil War, 2.0." Last modified 2011. Accessed December 18, 2012. http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/28/the-causes-of-the-civil-war-2-0/.
Gates, Henry Louis. The Root, "Was Lincoln a Racist." Last modified 2009. Accessed December 17, 2012. .
Kelly, Martin. About.com, "Top Five Causes of Civil War." Accessed December 18, 2012. .
Randall, James. Lincoln, the Liberal Statesman. 1947.
Tagg, Larry. The Unpopular Mr. Lincoln: The Story of America's Most Reviled President. 2009.
Tubbs, Brian. Yahoo.com, " Causes of Secession: Why the South Left the Union." Last modified 2007. Accessed December 18, 2012. http://voices.yahoo.com/causes-secession-why-south-left-union-663095.html?cat=37.
