History

Is Slavery the Real Cause of the Civil War?

Slavery in the U.S began in 1619 when the Dutch ships transported African slaves in the British colony. During this period, the British North Americans, and the white settlers used African slaves as slave labor (DOI, 2014). They worked on tobacco, rice, and indigo plantation. The British colonies benefited from slavery since Africans could meet their demand for labor.  However, during the American Revolution in 1775, the revolutionaries focused on the ‘liberty of the slaves' and they were committed to bringing freedom and equality to slaves (DOI, 2014). The Northern States were against the legitimacy of slaves and they chased away the slaves but the South maintained their slaves since there were needed to work as slave labor in the cotton plantation. In 1787, the U.S constitution was written but slavery in the Constitution was ignored or in other words, the constitution failed to prohibit slavery especially in the new territories or the newly formed states (DOI, 2014).  The status of slavery in the new lands led to an anti-slavery movement that was created to end slavery especially in the new territories

 The Republican Party was formed to support the eradication of slavery. On the other hand, the Democratic Party which existed since the 1850s employed the principle of popular sovereignty and argued that the territories have the power to decide whether to permit slavery or not.  During the presidential election of 1860, Lincoln gained majority votes from the Northern and Western States and none from the South. The Southern States felt that their peculiar institution will be destroyed and they formed a separate government which was ruled by Jefferson David (DOI, 2014).  In 1861, Lincoln decided to find a peaceful solution and he sent the U.S army troop and volunteers from States such as North Carolina and Arkansas to solve the differences with the Confederacy. This is was the beginning of the civil war.  Therefore, slavery caused the civil war between the Confederate States (11 southern states) and the United States of America (DOI, 2014). The war emerged as a result of a difference of opinion regarding the institution of slavery.

 

 

Reference

 

U.S Department of the Interior. (DOI). (2014). Slavery: Cause and Catalyst of the Civil War: What Caused the Civil War? CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform,