Civil War Inevitability
THE INEVITABILITY OF THE BREAKUP OF THE UNIONThe breakup of the Union was inevitable. The south was always going to secede; it was just a question of when. The southern and northern states varied on many issues. There were deep economic, social, and political differences between the north and the south. All of this was a different interpretation of the United States Constitution on both sides. In the end, all of these disagreements led to the Civil War. There were reasons other than slavery for the south's secession.(5) The south relied heavily on agriculture, as opposed to the north which was highly populated by factories. The south grew cotton, which was its main cash crop. Many southerners knew that heavy reliance on agriculture would hurt the south, but their warnings were not heeded.(1) Constitutionally the north favored a loose interpretation of the United States Constitution. They wanted to grant the federal government increased powers. The South wanted to reserve all undefined powers to the individual states. The south relied upon it for their economic well being. The north's economy was not reliant on such labor. This issue overshadowed all others.(5)
Maine also applied for statehood in 1819, in which it was admitted as a free state. The distribution of these lands in small lots speeded the development of this section; it was disliked in the south for it aided the free farmer than the slaveholding plantation owner. Now the balance of 11 free states and 11 slave states was in trouble. There were demands for political equality and economic and social advances. The removal of the restriction on the expansion of slavery ensured southern support for the bill, which was signed into law by President Franklin Pierce on May 30, 1854. It authorized the creation of Kansas and Nebraska, west of Missouri and Iowa and divided by the 40th parallel. As Lincoln was elected the south felt expansionism being threatened. But many Southerners felt that a government dominated by free states could endanger existing slaveholdings. The first evidence of the North's actions came in 1819 when Missouri asked to be admitted to the Union as a slave state. (5) The South wanted to protect their states' rights. The south felt their very way of life being threatened. I believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free. The last main conflict that led to succession was during the presidential election of 1860. The newly formed Republican Party nominated Abraham Lincoln on principles that opposed the further expansion of slavery.
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