SLAVERY'S ACCOMPLICES

The grave misconception that slavery was the sole perpetrator of the Civil War unfortunately runs rampant throughout many intelligent minds throughout the general populace. Although slavery was one of the major issues of the Civil War, by no means was it the only issue. Additional research reveals that even slavery itself was not the major issue, rather it was the dispute over which states and territories were to embrace slavery. Another major contributor to the war was a little more personal: Northerners and Southerners had grown over the years to feel a certain mutual fear and hatred for each other. Third was the fear by the South of the new Republican party which threatened many aspects of Southern life.

While the slavery dispute emerged shortly after the launch of the Union, the dispute of slavery in western territories can be traced back to 1819, when Missouri requested admission to the Union. The ensuing, heated debate concerned the admittance as either a slave state or a free state and came to a head in 1820. The Missouri Compromise of 1820 admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state, but this decision was only temporary; slavery was, after all, an all-or-nothing issue wherein both sides sought total domination: slave or free. The Compromise of 1850 followed in the tradition of "putting-off" the slavery issue by admitting California as a free state while enforcing Fugitive Slave Laws which would ensure the return of escaped slaves to their owners. The Fugitive Slave Laws and slave vs. free territories led to several precedent-setting court cases, the most famous of which, Dred Scott vs. Sandford, found its way to the Supreme Court.

On another front was the age old patriotism felt on both sides of the conflict. For years the industrial North had threatened the economy of the South. For example, a deep depression struck in 1819, and was blamed on greedy Northerners seeking fortune. Southerners began to fear for the future of their slavery, the future of their cotton industry, and their very survival. "A new bitterness entered the halls of Congress." (A History of the United States, p. 216) Another reason for this mutual scorn directly surrounded the issues of slavery. As early as America's founding, doubts were being raised by Northerners about the validity of slavery. Their cause was furthered by the northern presses revealing slavery horrors and the northern influence in Congress. By 1808, the importation of slaves was prohibited, and the north had won a small victory, sowing yet more strife throughout the nation. A strike at the North occurred as well, however, dampening their anti-slavery fire. This blow came in the form of Congress's refusal to discuss petitions against slavery. The policy dubbed as the "gag-rule" was initiated in response to the impossible amount of anti-slavery petitions received continuously by Congress.

Fear was struck into the hearts of Southerners with the dissolving of the Whig party and the emergence of the Republicans in the 1850's. Although the fledgling Republican party lost the election of 1856, it had been close; their first-time appearance had been staggering according to polls. Republican views threatened the Southerner's way of life, mostly regarding the slavery issue. The "necessary evil" aspect assigned to slavery had long since been abandoned in favor of the viewpoint suggested by South Carolina's governor in 1829: "Slavery is not an evil. On the Contrary, it is a national benefit." (A History of the United States, p. 272) Southerners had become dependent on slaves for their cotton production, and felt perfectly comfortable about this "peculiar institution" (as it was called by the Northerners). A southern newspaper stated, "If they [the Republicans] should succeed in this contest . . . they would repeal the Fugitive Slave Law . . . they could create insurrection and servile war in the South . . . they would put the torch to our dwellings and the knife to our throats." (A History of the United States, p. 317) In 1860, Abraham Lincoln was elected, effectively the first Republican president. The South's rash response was to secede; first by South Carolina, followed by Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas. Even before Lincoln's inauguration, the Confederate States of America was born, lighting the fuse on the firecracker of war.

In essence, most Civil War causes were directly or indirectly linked to the institution of slavery in the South and the West. However, most issues branched off from the issue to encompass the personal feelings the North and South exchanged, as well as the institution of new political parties. The drawn conclusion stresses that while slavery was a major instigator of the American Civil War, it was one in an ocean of other causes.