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The period of the Civil War in America was time of change and discourse between the North and the South. Various different events would contribute to the divide of America over the main issue that’s been plaguing the nation since colonial times, slavery.

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Appeal to the Colored Citizens of the World (1829)

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Appeal to the Colored Citizens of the World (1829)

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David Walker wrote this appeal to show the hypocrisy of America: a nation that claims to be a symbol of liberty and freedom, but being contradictory because they allow the enslavement of others. This appeal would inspire abolitionist for years to come.

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Free Slaves in the North and West (1830s - 1850s)

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Free Slaves in the North and West (1830s - 1850s)

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Slaves who were in free states, especially the North, were granted many new freedoms because of how slavery was viewed. These freedoms promised education, voting and different social rights. Most of their freedoms were limited shortly after due to the Virginia debate.

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Manifest Destiny and Texas Expansion (1830-1840)

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Manifest Destiny and Texas Expansion (1830-1840)

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Slavery was the reason why America was expanding. As the North and the South were in a struggle to expand and take control over the government, they wanted more land to gain more representation from the government.

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In April 1846, Dred and Harriet filed separate lawsuits for freedom in the St. Louis Circuit Court against Irene Emerson based on two Missouri statutes. One statute allowed any person of any color to sue for wrongful enslavement. The other stated that any person taken to a free territory automatically became free and could not be re-enslaved upon returning to a slave state. The decision in this case meant that a slave could live in a free state and still be a slave.  This decision caused an uproar in the North.

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Free blacks in the south were granted little freedoms. They weren’t allowed an education, voting or even to testify in court. If southern African Americans (mostly in urban areas) couldn’t find work they were  forced to do labor.

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Nat Turner’s Rebellion was a very large and bloody slave revolt held by southern slave and preacher Nat Turner. Turner and around 80 of his followers attacked plantations and killed almost 60 white people. Shortly after they were captured by Federal and state troops. After the rebellion, many innocent black people died to white people’s retaliation. Nat Turner hid after the rebellion and was captured and killed.

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The Virginia debate was held in January 1832 over the future of slavery. Many people had opposing views. Abolitionists wanted to get rid of slavery in America but the motion to leave abolition to state legislature lost. Majority of the votes didn’t want to abolish slavery due to the Nat Turner rebellion.

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The aftermath of the Virginia Debate (1832)

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The aftermath of the Virginia Debate (1832)

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After the debate, many southerners used Turner’s Rebellion and the Bible to justify the tightening and strict conditions of slavery. This resulted in the loss and limitations of many northern and western slave rights.

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Slavery a Positive Good, John Calhoun (1837)

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Slavery a Positive Good, John Calhoun (1837)

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John Calhoun, a heavy advocate for the South and slavery, argued that slavery wasn’t an unjust evil but instead a positive good. He believed that African Americans were inferior to whites and that justifies why slaves deserve the treatment they get. This sparked a discussion in congress and many good points were made.

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Mexican-American War and California Gold Rush (1840-1850)

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Mexican-American War and California Gold Rush (1840-1850)

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The drive for more land to continue the spread of slavery bleed into Texas, which was a part of Mexico at the time, and California, when gold was found and people flocked to California. The eventual annexation of both Texas and California would bring tensions between the North and the South due to states having the right to pick if it was a slave state or free state.

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Manifest Destiny, John L. O’Sullivan (1845)

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Manifest Destiny, John L. O’Sullivan (1845)

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The drive to spread slavery from the South and the North trying to stop them fueled expansion. The rapid expansion westbound was described by John L. O’Sullivan in two words: manifest destiny. He suggested that it was the American mission to occupy the entire continent of North America. He would support the annexation of Texas and will probably next. This mentality of manifest destiny would justify the Mexican American War.

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A video detailing more in-depth of what the concept of Manifest Destiny was.

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Americanwas more divided than ever over the issue of slavery. Both the North and the South would not comprise, as for the South, slavery was their way of life but the North viewed slavery as immoral and unjust causing great political tension between the two sides, dividing America even more, creating new political parties in the process.

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What to the American Slave is the 4th of July(1859)

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What to the American Slave is the 4th of July(1859)

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Frederick Douglass delivered his speech in Rochester, New York and asked the question “What to the American Slave is the 4th of July?” He spoke out against the hypocrisy of the US supporting liberty but also supporting slavery.

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The Civil War and The Gettysburg Address (1860-1870)

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The Civil War and The Gettysburg Address (1860-1870)

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The U.S. was divided over slavery which, has pushed the South over the edge. The South had declared independence from the Union and will fight to be recognized so that they can have slavery. As the war was raging on, President Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address to change what the Union was fighting for and gave freedom to the slaves. The Union would end up winning the war and slavery would be abolished.

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The Cornerstone of the Confederacy, Alexander H. Stephens (1861) 

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The Cornerstone of the Confederacy, Alexander H. Stephens (1861) 

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After the South had divided itself form the union because it’s unwillingness to give up slavery, the Confederacy’s vice president, Alexander H. Stephens, gave a speech explaining how the improvements that the Confederacy had over the Union.

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Here US president Abraham Lincoln declared that slavery was now illegal and that slaves were now free, effective change the purpose of the war to be about slavery.

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Gettysburg Address, Abraham Lincoln (1863)

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Gettysburg Address, Abraham Lincoln (1863)

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The major turning point for the Civil War, the battle of Gettysburg, had just been won by the Union. President Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address to pay tribute to the men who had fallen in the battle and over the course of the war. This speech also revitalized morale for the Union to continue fighting for slavery to be abolished.  Before Gettysburg, the war was fought solely to preserve the Union.

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While slavery has always been prevalent in the US since colonial times till the end of the Civil War, it had a massive impact and was the main reason of the Civil War starting. Slavery had caused people to be angry, causing abolitionist movements in America which divided America, this divide led to  expanding westward to either spread slavery more or try to stop slavery, which created more divided and eventually the split between America and the Civil War.