Between 1789 and 1859, the American Civil War officially began
Between 1789 and 1859, the American Civil War officially began. Over 600,000 people died as a result of this conflict between 1861 and 1865, though its effects were very noticeable. Numerous historians concur that the political history of the United States of America and movements that arose against then-common human injustices are the root causes of this conflict. Disunion at Elizabeth Varon's! The American Civil War, 1789–1859 provides an analytical overview of the circumstances and activities that took place in the years building up to the Civil War. Varon approaches the events that led to this war with some levels of trepidation by imposing some extents of integration of the history of the nation in cohesion to the constitutional position. According thon Elizabeth, the civil war was as a result of disagreements between the northerners and southerners and the periods that led to the constitutional convention. In her analysis, Elizabeth reveals the fact that there existed a subtle tool of interpretation of the issuers of disunion evident in these periods. She explains that the United States of America was formed through uniting various states. In the other hand, political fears among the states greatly contributed to the start of the Civil War. This paper looks into the events that led to the beginning of the American Civil War by making a critical analysis of Elizabeth Varon’s Disunion! The coming of the American Civil War, 1789-1859.
Social and Economic Variations between the Northerners and the Southerners
Social and Economic Variations between the Northerners and the Southerners The period between 1789 and 1859 saw the world’s growth in multiple ways. America was not spared either. Agricultural and industrial resolutions saw a great boost in this period with the textile industry being revived to adopt new mechanisms of work. The year 1793 saw Eli Whitney invent the cotton gin. Such inventions increased the levels of profitability for cotton based on the fact that the machine went a long way in reducing the period taken to separate seeds from the industrially viable cotton. On the other hand, the southerners had to increase the plantations of cotton attributed to the high levels of profitability. Consequently, an increase in plantations demanded for a larger population of slaves to provide cheap labor. As the southerners adopted a single crop economy, slavery in his region intensified. On the contrary, the northerners greatly relied on industries rather than agriculture. As a matter of fact, the northerners formed the greatest market for cotton from the south and processed it into the desired final products. Such disparities stirred high levels of disagreements based on economic issues. While the southerners increased their emphasis on an antiquated social order while embracing a plantation system, the northerners saw their societies undergo high levels of evolution based on the fact that they welcomed people from varied cultures and social classes leading to the evolution of city ways of life. Such differences attracted clashes and disagreements, leading to the creation of a fertile ground for the Civil War. This was further intensified by the rise of abolitionism as a movement during this period. This is attributed to the fact that the “abolitionists often proclaimed unwillingness to remain in a union tainted with the sin of slavery. Many white southerners blustered about disunion to induce recalcitrant white northerners to support a slaveholding union”(33).
Struggle between States against Federal Rights
Struggle between States against Federal Rights America saw the emergence of two distinct groups after the industrial and agricultural revolutions of the mid-1800s. in this case, one group argued for increment in the rights given to states while the other faction being proponents of increased control on the side of the federal government. It is important to note that the United States of America saw the emergence of its first organized system of governance after the American Revolution being guided by the Articles of Confederation. At this time, the thirteen states revealed a loose confederation that was controlled by a federal government with a lot of weaknesses. With these weaknesses, the leaders of states made secret meetings to come up with the United States of America’s Constitution with support from the weaknesses of the Articles. With the exclusion of America’s powerful men like Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry in these meetings, it was evident that the political position of the country was in shambles. A greater percentage of Americans felt that the new constitution did not put into consideration the need for states to continue operating as independent entities. Elizabeth explains that “they felt that the states should still have the right to decide if they were willing to accept certain federal acts. This resulted in the idea of nullification, whereby the states would have the right to rule federal acts unconstitutional”(56). With the states being denied these rights by the federal government, America saw the rise of people like John Calhoun fighting for the nullification of these processes. Since these nullifications did not bear any fruit, the states felt that they had lost their respect and moved in the way of secession. This move divided the country into the north and south, marking the commencement of the Civil War.
Clashes between Slave and Non-slave Proponents
Clashes between Slave and Non-slave Proponents Before the Missouri Compromise was passed in the year 1820, America was split into two factions; the states that agreed to be unified and those that wanted to remain carrying out slavery. The Missouri compromise played a critical role in cutting down the effects of slave trade in Louisiana Purchase’s former states. The Mexican war conflict also contributed to the events that led to the Civil War based on the fact that people were weary of the events that would take place after acquisition of new territories in which the United States of America had expected to gain control upon. The rise of people like David Wilmot in these days played a critical role in describing how slavery took place particularly after he came up with the Wilmot Proviso of 1846 that banned the activities of slavery in the new territories. However, this was met with a lot of opposition from people like Henry Clay who wanted a strike of balance the needs of slave and Free states and the interests of the northerners and those of the southerners. As a result, the Fugitive Slave Act was proposed and passed. Further, the Kansas-Nebraska act of 1854 also contributed to increasing the levels of tension between the northerners and southerners based on the fact that it created two territories which were allowed to make use of popular sovereignty as a way of deliberating if they would be classified as free or slave states. At the same time, Kansas saw the pro-slavery Missourians begin to occupy the land in the bid of converting it into a slave state. The Missourians who invaded Kansas were referred to as the Border Ruffians, who caused a lot of chaos in Kansas which led to fights. These fights were even evident in the senate. Elizabeth explains that “The fight even erupted on the floor of the senate when anti-slavery proponent Charles Sumner was beat over the head by South Carolina's Senator Preston Brooks”(67).
Abolition Movements and the Election of Abraham Lincoln
Abolition Movements and the election of Abraham Lincoln As the northerners increased their extents of polarization against the issue of slavery, abolitionists also increased the extents of sympathy against slaveholders and slavery in general. This took place after the fugitive slave act was passed which held slaveholders responsible for the affairs of slaves with little consideration of whether they lived in slave or non-slave territories. On the other hand, the election of Abraham Lincoln saw the inhabitants of South Carolina issue their Declaration of the Causes of Secession in which they believed that Lincoln was in favor of the northerners based on his antislavery stands. In conclusion, Elizabeth Varon’s book Disunion! The coming of the American Civil War, 1789-1859 goes a long way in unraveling the events that led to the start of the Civil War. With the greatest issue being the slave attitudes and differences between the northerners and southerners, the war was stirred by a number of contributing factors. Social and economic variations between the northerners and the southerners, the struggle between states against federal rights, clashes between slave and non-slave proponents, and the rise of abolition movements and the election of Abraham Lincoln were the key contributing factors.
Works Cited
Varon, Elizabeth R. Disunion!: the coming of the American Civil War, 1789-1859. Univ of North Carolina Press, 2008.
