The Civil War: Ending Slavery

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The Civil War: Ending Slavery

Also deduced as the war of the states, the American Civil War marked the secession of the North and South States based on the differing opinions regarding the issue of slavery in the United States. Nevertheless, irrespective of the war centering on the problem of slavery, it is indeed evident that the war encompassed different stakes between the North and the South. On one hand, the North demanded for the commencement of Free States and as such, routed for the abolishment of slavery. On the other hand, the South supported the rise of Slave states and thus, sought to uphold slavery based on the financial gains the slaves brought to them. Regardless, based on the different stakes of the war, it is probable to assume that the Civil War served the purpose of ending slavery.

Indeed, the Civil War originated from slavery. At this time, the states within the Southern part of the country seceded from the Union and formed the Confederacy. However, from the inception to the culmination of the Civil war between 1861 and 1865, the confederation of the South fell and slavery became abolished based on the insurmountable losses the South experienced from the war. Nevertheless, much of the war centered on the prevalence of slavery. The North, comprised of Republicans and led by Abraham Lincoln opposed the extension of slavery into the territories of the Union in the presidential election in 1860. Even after becoming president, some of the states, which supported the expansion of slavery into the Western terrains already, formed the Confederacy (Foner 532). Furthermore, the states that routed for slavery wanted slaves to work for their cotton fields, which necessitated the desire to call for secession.

Regardless of the threats of a looming Civil War, Lincoln pledged not to commence a civil war. This is because foreign powers recognized the Union and as such, could fail to vest interests in the country in terms of trade and other economical gain activities if the Union fell. Furthermore, it was also clear that the objective of ending slavery formed the main incentive for some of the slave states, which fully opposed secession. However, the forces of the Confederacy seized several forts in the Confederate territory. Moreover, the Confederacy asserted that the foreign powers depended on cotton and thus assumed that they would intervene. However, they did not recognize the Confederacy. Furthermore, the Confederate forces proceeded on attacking forts such as Fort Sumter, which belonged to the Union forces based on their opposition to the rejection of the expansion of slavery into more territories.

In addition, more slave states united with the Confederacy, which propelled the Union to seize the Border States and as such, cripple the economy of the Confederacy. However, Lincoln further emphasized on ending slavery by releasing the Emancipation Proclamation, which focused on culminating the issue of slavery within America (Foner 515). Furthermore, the Proclamation sought to African American slaves to join the War in order to fight for their freedom and further increased the numbers of the Union armies over the Confederacy, which did not want to demoralize the justification for slavery (Binder 286). As such, proceeding after the Proclamation, the Union, led by Ulysses Grant, destroyed the Confederate Navy in 1862 as well as most Western armies that were part of the Confederacy. Additionally, the Battle of Gettysburg halted the incursion of the Confederate armies led by Robert E. Lee further weakening the Confederacy and its support for slavery.

Nevertheless, based on the precedent decisions made by the Court such as the Dred Scott Decision and the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which propelled slavery, the support for the abolishment of slavery by Abraham Lincoln instigated the Civil War. According to the Republicans, slavery was an evil in the American society and as such, required expulsion irrespective of the gains that the Southern states received based on the cotton and tobacco plantations that the slaves worked on. As such, as declared in the Emancipation Proclamation, the events surrounding slavery were indeed heart wrenching for Lincoln to end slavery by declaration of the Civil War that remains as one of the bloodiest wars fought in the United States of America.

Works Cited

Binder, Frederick M. The Way We Lived: Volume I. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2000. Print.

Foner, Eric. Give Me Liberty!: An American History. New York: W.W. Norton, 2006. Print.