The American Civil War and Its Inevitability Essay

The Civil War was the bloodiest and most violent war in all of Americas history. Not only did it pit brother against brother and father against son, but it also caused more deaths than all of Americas wars before or since combined. The cause for the Civil War was not a single event; instead it was a combination of several. In general, the South felt overpowered by the North socially, economically, and culturally. The two sides’ ways of life were completely different in every aspect of the word. At the heart of all the issues lay one major cause for dissension which is known as slavery. Frankly, the combinations of events that led to the civil war drove people over the edge, had varying degrees of influence, and tended to have slavery as†¦show more content†¦He also proposed more stringent Fugitive Slave Laws and the banishment of slave trade from the District of Columbia. Last but not least, in the compromise he included the plan to settle the boundaries of Texas and assume its $10 million debt. The Dred Scott Decision became the next problem that led to the Civil war. Dred Scott was a black slave that lived for 5 years in Illinois with his master. He sued for his freedom based on his prolonged stay on free soil. The Supreme Court heard the case and ruled that since Dred Scott was a black slave and was equated to property. Therefore, he was not a citizen and not allowed to sue. The Court took the ruling further saying that since a slave was property; they could be taken into any territory and be held there under the laws of slavery. The ruling was based on the Fifth Amendment which denied Congress the right to strip people of their property without due process of law. Southerners were pleased with the victory in the case, but abolitionists were horrified at the idea that slavery could legally spread anywhere in the country. The fear of this continued to grow in the North and caused much more friction between the North and South as a result. On top of other issues leading up to the war lay the Kansas-Nebraska Act. When the territory of Nebraska was proposed to enter the Union, more squabbling between the supporters of the North and South ensued. Stephen Douglas proposed that if they splitShow MoreRelatedThe Civil War Was Inevitable1399 Words   |  6 PagesThe American Civil War took place from April 12, 1861 to May 9, 1865. The simple answer is yes: the Civil War was completely inevitable, but there were many events, documents and people before its beginning that certainly had a large bearing on the war itself. The most divisive political issue in the United States in the mid-1800s was the expansion of slavery, and slavery is certainly the common denominator of the events leading up to the Civil War. 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