Ruda 1 Even if the Civil War hadn't started when it did, slavery itself would have been enough

of a cause to start a war within the nation. Cory Ruda It is a long debated question as to if the civil war was necessary. Some blame James Buchanan for his last of action, some say he could do nothing to stop the war. The cause of the war was the infringement of the Northern, abolitionist-controlled government, especially considering newly elected president Abraham Lincoln. If the south had not seceded from the Union when it did, and if a compromise was found between the regions, peace still could not be found, and there would still be war. This time, the north would be the aggressors, though, and the primary cause of it would be the abolition of slavery. Slavery, as put so well by David Potter, was in the late 1800's America, the most serious cause of sectional conflict. (Potter 378) It is, the central issue, (Potter 378) It drilled through the country and the minds of it's people like a California fire in the summer. It was, without a doubt, the central issue of all problems. Used for thousands of years by hundreds of peoples, it was the epitome of a civil rights problem, and one that would tear the nation in half. As time passes through history, human rights eventually come to the forefront and normally allow for great freeing advancements of the underprivileged oppressed. Normally, the movement to do so starts out small, then is brought together in a glorious spearhead event, or person, or object. The object for abolition was a book, namely, Uncle Tom's Cabin. This book, written by Harriet Beecher Stowe, brought the already controversial issue of slavery into the hearts and minds of the northerners who hadn't

Ruda 2 Even if the Civil War hadn't started when it did, slavery itself would have been enough of a cause to start a war within the nation. really known what slavery and it's conditions were. Now, in this best selling series of works, everyone in the north saw slavery as their own problem, their own burden to bear if they did nothing to change it. Here was your spearhead gathering. The south took these novels as a great offense to their strong honor. It remains for us to consider briefly these points upon which the authoress rests her abuse of the Southern States, in the book as a whole... Many of the allegations of cruelty towards the slaves, brought forward by Mrs. Stowe, are absolutely and unqualifiedly false.(Thompson 366) What Mrs. Stowe really managed to do here was not guilt southerners into wanting abolition, but more poignantly draw lines between two sides of a war. Not all Northerners saw Stowe's work as a good thing. In the novels, Stowe argued for Christian patience and non-action to be used by the slaves. More radical abolitionists disliked and refuted this idea, calling for action, through any means necessary, including rebellion and murder. Is there one law of submission and nonresistance for the black man, and another law of rebellion for the white man? When it is whites who are trodden.... does Christ justify them in taking up arms to vindicate their rights? (Garrison 365) Garrison, in his Liberator newspaper, fights here to have the black man take up arms and fight back. His writings would lead the way for multiple slave uprisings. Another man wholly disagreed with the idea of non-action for the Abolitionist cause. Eventually hanged for his actions, one John Brown would make clear his stance of action and violence in his attacks into Kansas, and his taking of an arms depot in

Ruda 3 Even if the Civil War hadn't started when it did, slavery itself would have been enough of a cause to start a war within the nation. Harper's Ferry, Virginia. In his Last Statement before being hanged, he would state his views and express his satisfaction of giving his life for abolitionism by describing America as a, slave country whose rights are disregarded by wicked, cruel, and unjust enactments... (Brown 376) Anger over the issue of slavery had been brewing for years between the regions. It was the central issue, permeating every waking moment of the day with debate and ill will. The north would not tolerate slavery any longer, and the south would not allow their right to it to be taken away. The south threatened secession if that right was threatened, even to go so far as to say that if the wrong presidential candidate won, namely John C. Fremont, they would leave. No where was the war before the war of slavery more heated than in the state of Kansas. Kansas, or Bleeding Kansas as it was described, was to enter the Union, but it was yet unsure of whether it would be a free or a slave state. Either way, due to the nature of the Congressional system at the time, one side of the slave debate would gain the upper hand in all matters political depending on the choice of the state to become free or slave. Both pro- and anti-slavery groups would come to violence here to help persuade the state's decision one way or the other. This violence is described by a pro-slavery southerner, Axalla John Hoole, in a series of letters to his family: As it happened we had almost 400 men with 2 cannon we marched out to meet [ our opponent, Lane]... We came in gunshot of each other, but the regular soldiers came and interfered, but not before our party had shot a dozen guns, by which

Ruda 4 Even if the Civil War hadn't started when it did, slavery itself would have been enough of a cause to start a war within the nation. it is reported that five of the Abolitionists were killed or wounded. (Hoole 367) This was a literal war in itself of slavery, two pitted factions attempting to eradicate each other in attempt to win Kansas as their own. If the Civil War had not begun in South Carolina for state's freedom, then it would no doubt be fought elsewhere solely for the freedom of the slaves.

Works Cited

Ruda 5 Even if the Civil War hadn't started when it did, slavery itself would have been enough of a cause to start a war within the nation. Potter, David M.. "The Sectional Divisions That Led To Civil War." Major Problems in American History: Volume 1: To 1877. Comp. Elizabeth Cobbs Hoffman. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2007. Print. Garrison, William Lloyd. "Review of Uncle Tom's Cabin." Major Problems in American History: Volume 1: To 1877. Comp. Elizabeth Cobbs Hoffman. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2007. Print. Thompson, John R.. "Review of Uncle Tom's Cabin." Major Problems in American History: Volume 1: To 1877. Comp. Elizabeth Cobbs Hoffman. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2007. Print. Brown, John. "Last Statement to the Virginia Court." Major Problems in American History: Volume 1: To 1877. Comp. Elizabeth Cobbs Hoffman. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2007. Print. Axalla, John Hoole. Bleeding Kansas. Major Problems in American History: Volume 1: To 1877. Comp. Elizabeth Cobbs Hoffman. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2007. Print.