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The Civil War was fundamentally about Slavery
The emergence of the American civil war in 1861 was a result of a number of factors that were fundamentally associated with the existence of slavery. Because of slavery, the American society and states were disintegrated on the slavery subject, which led to the civil war (Velt, Storm on the Horizon). Slavery sparked debates over civil rights that led to diverse views from different factions of the American society, with some supporting slavery and others seeking abolition (Velt, Fighting Slavery). From this perspective, the discussion will focus on the pieces of evidence that point out slavery as the fundamental factor behind the Civil War from the beginning. This way, the discussion will explore the abolition, racism and the southern economy as the evidences linking slavery with the civil war.
Abolition contributed to the emergence of the civil war because of the anti-slavery sentiments that varied between the southerners and the northerners (Velt, Storm on the Horizon). The slavery period marked great violation of the human rights, and opened a door for people to give views on the subject which were different. The northerners viewed slavery differently from the southerners, who were the antagonists of the civil war. While southerners strongly defended slavery, some northerners opposed slavery and were sympathetic (Velt, Storm on the Horizon). For instance, some abolitionist even invented alphabet methods of teaching their children the evils of slavery (The Abolitionist Alphabet 1). This created a sense of rebellion against the states and societies that promoted the use of slavery in the economic development of American society.
The abolitionist movement was alive because of the need to end slavery and promote free labor in the United States, especially in cotton farms (Velt, Fighting Slavery). At the height of slavery in the 1860, the United States, especially the southern part was marked by an increase in the number of slaves used to farm in cotton farms and increases the production of the cotton (Velt, Fighting Slavery).
Despite the efforts of Abraham Lincoln to reduce slavery and prohibit importation of slaves, the population of slaves still increased (Velt, Introducing Mr. Lincoln). This was the need why after the civil war, friendly relations had to be resatablshed back in 1865 (Cooley 284). The existence of slavery at the time and need for abolition links with the civil war, as the war started in 1861, just at the time when the number of slaves working on cotton farms had increased to significant numbers in 1860 (Velt, Fighting Slavery).
The negative human impacts of slavery, coupled with the need for abolition created a political debate between the abolitionists and those rooting for slavery. This mostly existed between the northerners and the southerners, who had different views about slavery, and abolition. On one hand, the southerners strongly defended slavery by arguing that it was a necessary good for their economy (Velt, Fighting Slavery). At the same time, the southern whites feared the slaves as they thought they could rebel because of the atrocities committed to them. This is because they were unkind to slaves, through whipping and inhuman treatment despite the paternalism practices by some slave owners (Velt, Fighting Slavery).
The northerners therefore sought to dominate the states that were seemingly driven by the need to develop their economies through slavery. These states had the highest number of slaves, and were the ones that formed the confederacy; a political outfit that was not enthusiastic about the politics of Abraham Lincoln. In fact, the whole confederate states were totally in disagreement with the federal government (Velt, The Plunge into War). Therefore, during the inauguration of Abraham Lincoln, the confederate states sought to pursue their own political interests as they saw a threat from the federal governments (Velt, Introducing Mr. Lincoln). This is because they saw the federation as a threat to their economy; an economy that is powered by slavery. This was at the time when it was clear that Abraham Lincoln was not supporting the expansion of slavery in the United States (Velt, Introducing Mr. Lincoln).
At the same time, racism became evidence that slavery was the fundamental cause of the civil war. Racism was propagated by the concept 0f the white supremacy that existed during the slavery period and in the nineteenth century. The white men thought they were supreme and that black people were made to work for the whites (Velt, Fighting Slavery). While the white masters sought total control over the region, the slaves and the anti-slavery whites sought to repel the increasing dominance of the whites.
Racism was not just felt on the white supremacy over the blacks and slaves, but also on the antagonism between the northerners and the southerners. The northerners were seeking to exert their supremacy over the southerners despite all of them being whites (Velt, Storm on the Horizon). This is because the northern whites were afraid that the southern states would be full of slaves, and dominate the southern economies. So they viewed the southern states as slave states, even if the whites were the masters (Velt, Fighting Slavery). This fueled the antagonism between the two factions, leading to the civil war; therefore, an evidence of slavery as a fundamental factor in the civil war.
The southern economy is also evidence that slavery was a fundamental factor of the civil war. According to Coates (1), commerce was initially what linked the industrialist northerners and the agriculturalist southerners. Trade and interaction between states in America was facilitated by the development of infrastructure, such as roads and railway (Velt, Choosing Manifest Destiny). However, the civil war between the southern states and the northern states stemed over the desire by the southern confederates to secede from the federation. The desire by the confederates to secede was as a result of the economic strength they got from industrialization and farming that was powered by slaves (Coates 1). This shows that if they were not relying on their economies, cotton farms, their slaves and industries, they could not get the strength of desire for secession; which eventually caused the civil war in 1861.
Due to the existence of labor of the slaves, and the growth of the economy of cotton farming, the southerners joined to form the confederates; to rally people against the federal government. The focus of the southern states that formed the confederacy was more on the economy that the slaves powered in the farms. The economy of the confederate states was powered by the slaves, who worked on the farms (Velt, Fighting Slavery). This gave the confederate states the strength to fight for the maintenance of slavery, and promotion of slavery as the best thing for their economies.
The existence of slavery became the most fundamental factor that led to the emergence of the civil war. Due to slavery, racism and abolitionist movements developed and took shape in the form of antagonism between the northern states and the southern states. The economies of the southern states were also powered by slavery as they were anchored on farming. The different views about slaves and slavery sparked more differences between the federation and the confederates. These factors offer evidence that from the beginning, slavery the fundamental factor behind the Civil War.
Works Cited
Coates, Ta-Nehisi. What This Cruel War Was Over, Web, Accessed, August 10, 2015, <http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/06/what-this-cruel-war-was-over/396482>
Cooley, Denis. Commisioner of Indian Affairs Denis Cooley on the consequences of the civil war, 1865, Web, Accessed, August 10, 2015, <http://history.msu.edu/hst202/files/2013/04/Commissioner-of-Indian-Affairs.pdf>
The Abolitionist Alphabet, Web, Accessed, August 10, 2015, <http://history.msu.edu/hst202/the-abolitionist-alphabet>
Velt, Storm on the Horizon, Web, Accessed, August 10, 2015, <http://history.msu.edu/hst202/avl-video/storm-on-the-horizon>
Velt, The Plunge into War, Web, Accessed, August 10, 2015, <http://history.msu.edu/hst202/avl-video/the-plunge-into-war>
Velt, Fighting Slavery, Web, Accessed, August 10, 2015, <http://history.msu.edu/hst202/avl-video/fighting-slavery>
Velt, Choosing Manifest Destiny, Web, Accessed, August 10, 2015, <http://history.msu.edu/hst202/avl-video/choosing-manifest-destiny>
Velt, Introducing Mr. Lincoln, Web, Accessed, August 10, 2015, <http://history.msu.edu/hst202/avl-video/introducing-mr-lincoln>