The American Civil War

Paper Summary:

This paper states that the key impetus for the Northern Republicans to enter into the American Civil War was the issue of slavery, which was linked to all other motivations. The author points out that, although a small minority were abolitionists, the primary factor was that slavery was the antithesis of the northern 'free labor ideology'. The paper relates that slavery was threatening to the Northern Republicans because it would have most likely spread out of the South, which would give political control to the southern elite, especially into the important new western lands. The author stresses that this threat of political control by the southern elite would hamper the northern desire for hegemony, would limit the essential collection of tariffs from the South and would create a society based on unfair privilege and economic stagnancy.

From the Paper:

"The fact that Northerners felt this inevitability so strongly, however, still does not explain why they objected to slavery in the first place. While there was a small proportion of abolitionist Northerners who objected to slavery on humanitarian grounds, the large majority were indifferent to the slaves' plight. Lincoln himself at times propounded views of the black race that today would be seen as highly discriminatory. Some have argued these instances were merely the machinations of political spin, while others maintain that Lincoln was a stanch and ruthless racist."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Clarke, Frances, 'Free Labour Ideology and the Northern Motivation for War', 31st July 2007, University of Sydney.
• Clarke, Frances, 'Slavery & The American Republic', 24th July 2007, University of Sydney.
• Clarke, Frances, 'Territorial Expansion & Political Realignments', 30th July 2007, University of Sydney.
• Hofstadter, Richard, The American Political Tradition and the Men Who Made It, (New York: Random House, 1989).

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