The Causes of the Civil War

Paper Summary:

The paper outlines the Missouri Compromise of 1820, the Tariff of Abomination of 1828, the annexation of Texas of 1845, the Compromise of 1850 and the Kansas Nebraska Act. The paper briefly discusses the Dred Scott case, the activities of John Brown and Lincoln's election as head of state. The paper shows how these factors illustrate the tensions that the spread of slavery caused between the North and the South.

From the Paper:

""The Civil War was the crisis of the Republic's first century, the test, in Abraham Lincoln's words, of whether any free government can long endure" (Walther, 2003). The Civil War is however the story of the resolution of more causes that first thought. There was the clear tension between the North and the South regarding economic, political, and social issues. However, the main issue under discussion and the one which actually triggered the war was the issue of the "peculiar institution", slavery. While some considered it to be a benefic aspect of the way in which society was developing, other considered it to be a breach of human rights and of the democratic process the United Stated decided to build once the American Revolution ended. In this sense, the history of the Civil War can be considered to have several significant entries which determined the perspective on slavery, on the issue of the territory, and in the end, on the future of the United States."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Fehrenbacher, Donald, ed. Lincoln: Speeches and Writings 1859-1865. Vol. 1. New York: Library of America, 1989.
• Jenkins, Philip. A history of the United States. New York: Palgrave, 1997.
• Walther, Eric H. The Shattering of the Union. New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 2003.

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