The Civil War and Slavery

The Civil war, fought between the North and South, was triggered by the conflict over slavery. Unlike slavery in the ancient world, this American version was based on race. White Southerners were committed to the preservation of slavery, while Northerners believed that slavery was morally wrong and needed to be brought to an end.

The issue was exacerbated by the fact that the rapidly industrializing North had far more electoral votes than the agricultural South, making it impossible for the South to dominate the national government. In 1860, a Republican, Abraham Lincoln, won the presidency without receiving a single vote from any of the ten Southern states. The South feared that it was losing the power to force the Federal government to concern itself with its pro-slavery demands and began pushing for secession.

Slaves dominated the economy in most Southern states, and the vast majority of the South’s population was Black. The South was reliant on slave labor to produce crops such as cotton, rice, and tobacco.

By 1860, many Americans had begun to think that slavery was wrong and that the country should start moving toward its abolition. Many abolitionists favored direct action to bring about change. This was the view espoused by John Brown, who planned a raid at Harper’s Ferry in 1859. Others, such as the tall, gaunt Illinois lawyer Abraham Lincoln, wanted to persuade the nation through debate. In the midst of this squabble, a new political party emerged, the Republicans, with Lincoln at its head.