Civil War: The Abolitionist Movement

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According to the Merriam- Webster Online Dictionary, “Civil War” is defined as “a war between opposing groups of citizens in the same country” . In relevance to the United States of America, the American War, mainly known as the “Civil War”, was fought between the Northern and Southern States, from 1861 to 1865, to supposedly culminate “uncompromising differences between the free and slave states over the power of the national government to prohibit the slavery in the territories that had not yet become states”. The Northern (Union) States consisted of “Maine, New York, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, California,…show more content…
“The Abolitionist movement in the United States of America was an effort to end slavery in a nation that valued personal freedom and believed “all men are created equal”. Over time, abolitionist grew more strident in their demands, and slave owners entrenched in response, fueling regional divisiveness that ultimately led to the Civil War”. Citizens in opposition of slavery grew more firm on their belief of equal rights which caused them to overlook the constitutional laws, which were a part of a group of laws referred to as “Compromise of 1850”. “In this compromise, the antislavery advocates gained the admission of California as a free state, and the prohibition of slave-trading in the District of Columbia. The slavery party received concessions with regard to slaveholding in Texas and the passage of this law”. The abolitionist hated these laws causing them to disobey them which further aggravated the South making them believe that the laws weren’t equally applicable for North which was perceived as unfair. This contributed to the differences between Northern and Southern states to grow even…show more content…
“The Missouri Compromise of 1820 was an effort by the U.S Senate and House of Representatives to maintain a balance of power between the slaveholding states and free states. The slaveholding states feared that if they became outnumbered in Congressional representation that they would lack the power to protect their interest in property and trade.” The North opposed the Compromise due to South already having more power than the North, meanwhile, the South feared being outnumbered in Congressional Representation which could result in a decrease in their power. The Constitution actually took measures in favor of the South by allowing “states to count each slave as three-fifths of a person for purposes of determining population, and therefore, the number of Congressional representatives the state was entitled to”. Basically, the territories gained from the U.S.-Mexican War (1846-1848) intensified the pro and con slavery debate, making slavery a bigger
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