Civil war
The Civil War was a great conflict between the Northern and Southern states of America. The principle cause of this war found its roots in the early 1800's as the Northern states moved away from farming towards manufacturing. Agriculture remained the most important way of making a living in the South. Planters used black slaves to work their fields for minimal costs and generated immense profits. The slavery trade came to the United States in 1619, when a Dutch merchant ship arrived in Jamestown, Virginia carrying twenty black Africans. The slaves were sold to American colonists and for years every part of the country practised slavery. Slavery soon vanished from the North, as harsh winters were unbearable for the Africans. Small landowners in the North could also not afford a sturdy field hand as costs ran up to $1800. For theses reasons they turned to industry and machines rather than farm hands. In the South the number of black slaves only increased to help meet a worldwide demand for tobacco and cotton. It was necessary to farm large areas of land and slaves were best suited for producing these crops. As slavery continued to grow, sentiment against it did as well. This caused the United States Government to pass a law
The amendment was defeated and the government adjourned without passing the bill. A movement began to surface in the North during 1840's to abolish slavery. Southerners protested saying that abolitionists were stealing their property. The rifles came to be known as "Beecher's Bibles," because the idea originated from Reverend Henry Ward Beecher, brother of Harriet Beecher Stowe (famous author who strengthened the abolitionist movement by showing the horrors of slavery). He ordered a blockade of Southern ports and called 75 000 men into action. It was marked by some of the bloodiest battles in history. Abraham Lincoln was picked as the Republican candidate for president in 1860. The Supreme Court ruled against Scott in 1857 claiming that the Constitution Congress had no right to forbid slavery in territories that were not part of the Union. For every slave state brought into the Union a free state was also admitted keeping an uneasy balance between the North and South. The compromise worked well until Texas defeated Mexico and won its independence. He sued for his freedom claiming that once he had left his slave state he was no longer a slave. The entire population of the United States was engaged in supporting war efforts on either side. Slavery grew worse as westward expansion began in the United States. This only meant that ships could no longer carry cargos of African slaves to Southern ports and sell them to colonists. South Carolina seceded in the month following the election.
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