At what point do you think the Civil war became inevitable?
mityxmouse1234
13 years ago
Americans at the time didn't believe there would be a war over an issue like slavery, but we have the benefit of hindsight. At what point do you think the Civil war became inevitable?
Need help on a portion of my history assignment.
Five answers:
Jay
13 years ago
The safe answer is the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860. Up to that point various compromises had been made to keep the Union together but the secessionist movement had promised to secede if Lincoln was elected president. Lincoln argued in his electoral campaign and again in his inauguration speech that once a State joined the Union that was it, they could not secede and he would therefore be honour bound to back up this threat to secede with if necessary military force. The Southern states were fully aware of this and the likely consequences of secession, yet proceded with it.
You could also use the decision by Lincoln not to accept secession or to surrender Fort Sumter, which was a Federal fort in newly seceded North Carolina, but his election was the tipping point.
If you want to look for a date prior to the election then it could be the raid on Harper's Ferry by John Brown or the refusal of the slave states to abolish slavery. You could even argue that the US constitution itself is responsible, the Founding Fathers had an opportunity to specifically outlaw slavery but did not. Arguably the first seeds were sown then as the refusal of the Confederate states to voluntarily abolish slavery and the construction of their economy around the institution meant that they would sooner or later be on a collision course with the non-slave States.
DeSaxe
13 years ago
Once the Southern forces fired upon Ft. Sumter the war was inevitable. Prior to Ft. Sumter a very thin chance existed that the border states would not succeed despite the election of Lincoln. By design or accident Beauregard firing on Ft. Sumter forced both hands. The North had to go through the border states to get to the south, so they border states had to choose between the union or succession. When Lincoln called for volunteers the border states voted for succession.
Despite the election of Lincoln there was a thin chance that a diplomatic solution could have been found.
anonymous
13 years ago
Secession was inevitable once Lincoln was elected President. There was still a chance to avoid war if Lincoln had been willing to let the South go.
Lincoln, in his First Inaugural Address, informed the South that he would not be the aggressor. He would not fire the first shot. The momentous question of war or peace, he told the Southerners, was in their hands, not his.
Yet, the Southerners fired on the U.S. flag at Fort Sumter. They did not think the North would go to war in support of negroes. Maybe not, but loyal Americans do go to war over hotheads who fire on the U.S. flag.
Lincoln called for troops to suppress the rebellion, which the South deemed an invasion, and act of war. The war, the bloodiest in our history, was on.
JVHawai'i
13 years ago
The day after the election when the news of Lincoln's victory was greeted with a cry for secession. Lincoln had spoken time and time again of his willingness to allow slavery to remain in those Southern States where it was established while standing firmly against allowing Slavery to take root elsewhere. The South made it clear that they wanted to maintain Slavery even at the cost of wrenching the Union apart.
Why was Civil War inevitable? If anyone else had been elected, such as Stephen A. Douglass, they would have let The South Go. But not Lincoln, he was determined that the US of A was a sacred pact between the States and that therefore those calling for Session were in the minority and that therefore it was up to him as duly elected President to punish those rebels and bring peace to the nation. Even at that point Lincoln was not certain what to do about Slavery, his focus was on ending the rebellion.
Peace/////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
Lisa
9 years ago
The Dred Scott case was a huge turning point.
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