A Prelude to War

During the 1800s in the Unites States, there were several conflicts between the North and South. All of this tension eventually led to the United States’ very own Civil War in 1861. Series of conflicting elections, compromises, inventions, court cases, and legislations during the years leading up to the Civil War ultimately caused the nation to divide. The Civil War became the battle between the North to fight for the Union, and the South to secede.

In 1860, a significant election took place that changed the whole course of American history and caused the southern states to secede. It was the election of Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth President of the Unites States. “To many southerners, Lincoln’s election meant that the South no longer had a voice in the national government. They believed that the President and Congress were now set against their interests – especially slavery.” (– The American Nation, pg. 479) Lincoln believed in a “proposition that all men were created equal” (Gettysburg Address) and did not support the spreading of slavery. Because of this, many southern states did not even include him as a candidate on the voting ballot. Despite the lack of the support of several southern states, Lincoln won the election with mostly only northern votes and southerners began to believe that they no longer had a say in the government. South Carolina and other southern states decided to break apart from the Union.

Even before the election, strains between the North and the South were plainly visible. Most of the arguments were based on slavery. One major reason why slavery was such a heated dispute between the free northern states and the slave southern states was because of the representation in the Senate. According to the Constitution, every state had an equal amount of representation in the Senate. A conflict arose in 1819 when Missouri applied to join the Union, as a slave-supporting state. At the time, the number of slave and free states in the Union were equal, but if a slave state joined the Union, it would give the South a majority in the Senate. Henry Clay proposed a plan to solve the dispute. “During the long debate, Maine had also applied for statehood. Clay suggested admitting Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state. His plan, called the Missouri Compromise, kept the number of slave and free states equal.” (– The American Nation, pg. 460) While the subject was debated, Maine had also applied to join the Union. Henry Clay’s plan was to admit both slave Missouri and free Maine into the Union at the same time, so that the power in the Senate would remain equal. It also marked an imaginary line across the southern border of Missouri at 36 degrees 30’N latitude in the Louisiana Purchase. Above the line, slavery was prohibited, with the exception of Missouri. Below the line, slavery was allowed. The issue was settled at the time; however, the Missouri Compromise only suspended the debate over slavery until more territories wished to apply for statehood. In time, more troubles would emerge.

Several legislations and bills were proposed, hoping to close the topic of slavery. Among them were the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the Wilmot Proviso. The Kansas-Nebraska Act allowed the territories to vote whether they wanted to allow or prohibit slavery. The act was meant to help solve the crisis that tagged slavery, but instead, it worsened it. Many anti-slavery northerners came to Kansas to vote against slavery, while many pro-slavery southerners came to Kansas illegally to vote to support slavery. Both sides often fought with the other side, and Kansas became known as “Bloody Kansas.” The Wilmot Proviso was an anti-slavery bill proposed by David Wilmot in 1847 to ban slavery. Though it passed the House of Representatives, it was rejected by the Senate and never fully passed as a law. However, the Wilmot Proviso would only be the first of much legislation that dealt with slavery.

‘Manifest Destiny,’ the idea (developed by John O’Sullivan) that U.S. citizens were better than other races by birth, sprang throughout the country in the 1830s-1840s. The idea supported the Indian Removal Act of 1830, which led to the deaths thousands of Native Americans along the Trail of Tears. Many southern plantation owners believed in the idea of racial superiority and used it as an excuse for the enslavement of African Americans.

The issue of slavery reappeared as new territories applied to join the Union. The Compromise of 1850 attempted to settle this ongoing issue. The Fugitive Slave Act, which was included in the Compromise of 1850, angered many abolitionists, people who were against slavery, because it made it illegal to speak out against slavery or help runaway slaves who had fled the South. By 1852, the morals of slavery were beginning to be questioned further. Uncle Tom’s Cabin, a book by Harriet Beecher Stowe, showed many Northerners how horrible slavery was. The Southerners were outraged and claimed that the book was an exaggeration of the treatment of slaves. Many northerners and abolitionists wanted to stop the spreading of slavery to the western territories, while the South favored slavery.

In 1857, the verdict of the Dred Scott v. Sandford case made anti-slavery and no-opinioned Northerners livid. Dred Scott was an originally slave from Illinois owned by Dr. John Emerson. His owner brought him to Wisconsin, when he died. Dred Scott sued for his freedom, since Wisconsin was a free state. “The Court’s decision shocked and dismayed Americans who opposed slavery. First, the Court ruled that Scott could not file a lawsuit because, as an enslaved person, he was not a citizen. Also, the Court’s written decision clearly stated that slaves were considered to be property.” (– The American Nation, pg. 471) The Supreme Court ruled that African Americans were not citizens, but property, and couldn’t go to court legally. The result of the court case came as a shock for the North, while the South received the news enthusiastically. The decision of the Supreme Court was perhaps one of the most disconcerting events that headed the nation to war, and slavery held no compromise.

The elections, inventions, compromises, legislations, and court cases caused apprehension between the northern and southern states. With such strains between the North and the South, the Civil War was inevitable.