Prior to this
course, I had very finite knowledge about the Civil War and the causes that led
to it. As an immigrant, I came into this country incognizant about much of
American history and in this case the civil war. Alas, going to a predominately
white middle and high school was futile in my apprehension of black history and
its origins. Certainly, through various history classes I took, I was acquainted
with basis of the Civil War such as the date it commenced and ended, those who
were entailed in it and the elementary cause of the war. Through the research
and scholarship presented about the war through this class and the videos
assigned, I have a better apprehension of the numerous causes that lead to the
Civil War.
I learned that of
the many reasons that ignited the Civil, the four principal causes were
Slavery, The Constitution, The Abolitionist Movement. Although the issue of states' rights, the existence of slavery,
ineffectual leadership, and each region's perceptions of the other's intentions
contributed to the war, none of these issues were a main cause of this historic
event. The expansion of slavery and sectionalism were one of the primary causes
of the Civil War because it created strain between the North and the South,
likewise the industrial and sectional differences between the two areas also
contributed to cause of the war. Another important component to what lead to
the Civil War was the 3/5 compromise which stated that the population of slaves
would be counted as three-fifths in total when apportioning Representatives, as
well as Presidential electors and taxes. Moreover, the Abolitionist Movement
also caused tension between the North and the South to escalate, Abolitionists
in the North opposed the practice of slavery and condemned the lifestyle of
those in the South, their dependency on the labor force and maltreatment of African
slaves. Lastly, the Republican Party and the nomination of Abraham Lincoln as
the 16th president of the United States caused a rift between the
states and eventually led to the succession of slave states such as South Carolina,
Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, Florida and Georgia to form what was
known as the Confederate States of America.
