Civil War Dbq

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During the civil war era the horrific and dehumanizing practice of slavery was present. Embedded within slavery were extremely immoral ideas such as white supremacy and inequality. Though slavery seems wrong on so many levels, some groups of radical conservative people believed it was politically correct and helped the economy prosper. While both north and south fought in this bloody war, the north fought for moral reasons while the south focused on defending their rights to self-government. Numerous people defended slavery, stating how the slaves had an immense positive impact on the economy, predominately in the south. Also, they believed that freeing the slaves would cause utter chaos and unemployment. However, there was one especially…show more content…
In order for slavery to exist, slaves were brutally beaten; however, they were beaten in order to dehumanize the African Americans so that the whites were able to rationalize what they were doing. In fact, these brutal actions towards slaves enabled the white population to view the blacks as animals instead of people, and this furthered their argument about slavery. They believed African Americans were sub-human, and whites were supreme. While the south attempted to justify slavery, a group known as the abolitionists opposed slavery and all it stood for. The main goal of abolitionists was to emancipate all slaves, and put an end to racial discrimination and segregation. Religion was the spark that lit the fire for abolitionists. These people believed that God existed in everyone, and therefore opposed slavery because everyone was equal. Within these progressive groups, leadership was provided by a couple of influential figures. A relentless abolitionist by the name of John Brown was one of them. Ultimately, John Brown justified acts of violence in order to attain the most noble of…show more content…
Lincoln considered how African American people were willing to die in the civil war, thus protecting the whites. However, the white people were not willing to fight for the Negroes. Lincoln believed that we must “dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is all together fitting and proper that we should do this.” In this strong statement from his Gettysburg address, Lincoln referred to the whites, but also the African Americans that gave their lives. Once again Lincoln’s strong beliefs on equality were portrayed in his second inaugural speech, as well as the 13thamendment. Lincoln’s second inaugural address visited the savage past of killing that he believed was God’s way of punishing humans for all their sins, but it also touched on the healing and reconstruction of the Union. He stated the importance that the American people proceed “with malice toward none; with charity toward all.” Although many confederate states were highly critical of Lincoln’s statement, Lincoln stood behind his potent words. Finally, Lincoln’s hopes for equality were made a reality with the 13th amendment to the constitution. This amendment,

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