For the initial post, pick three (3) of the leading causes of the American Civil War:
The Compromise of 1850
The Fugitive Slave Law 1850
Uncle Tom’s Cabin 1852
The Kansas Nebraska Act 1854
The Dred Scott Case of 1857
The Lincoln Douglas Debates 1858
Then, address one (1) of the following for your selections:
Based on the historical facts given in this module, assess if the American Civil War was inevitable.
Analyze if the United States Supreme Court can settle legal and moral issues through judiciary review. In your response, provide a documented example of a modern parallel of a legal or moral issue settled by the United States Supreme Court.
Answer
The American Civil War of 1861 to 1865 was a result of disagreements between free and slave states on whether or not the national government had the power to outlaw slavery in territories yet to become states. The war was fueled by factors such as Uncle Tom’s Cabin 1852, the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 and the Lincoln Douglas Debates of 1858. Uncle Tom’s Cabin, for example, narrates the story of a slave, Tom, who was taken into slavery after saving the life of a little girl and who was later killed for refusing to disclose information on the location of runaway slaves. The author, Harriet Stowe, is said to have received backlash from the then president, Abraham Lincoln, who acknowledged its influence in the war. Secondly, the Fugitive Slave Law which sought to allow slave owners to recapture their slaves from Free states was met with heavy opposition by abolitionists working towards the protection of African Americans. The battle between the abolitionists and other legislators over the provisions of the law contributed largely to the civil war. Lastly, the Lincoln Douglas debates of 1858 also included the slave ownership debate, for instance, where Douglas rejected the classification of Kansas as a slave trade under the constitution while Lincoln gained support from southern slave interests.
The American Civil War was inevitable as it not only dealt with slavery issues in the nation but also helped determine whether the United States was a dissolvable federation of independent states or an inseparable nation with a sovereign national government. Although many lives were lost and property destroyed in the war, the Northern victory resulted in the abolishment of the slavery institution while stabilizing the United States as one nation at the same time.
References
Encyclopedia Britannica . (2014). Uncle Tom’s Cabin . Britannica.
McPherson, J. (2013) (n.d.). A Brief Overview of the American Civil War. Battlefields.
