Often people think that the Civil War happened specifically because of the dispute over slavery, but there were other causes, such as popular sovereignty. Popular sovereignty was where the people get to decide what happens in their state. Popular sovereignty is the main cause of the Civil War because it caused conflicts between slave states and free states as to where slavery should be allowed and the people in the states began to lean towards war and violence.
The first sign of popular sovereignty not working was The Nullification Act. It supports that popular sovereignty helped cause the Civil War because it was the first sign of a civil war happening. The Nullification Act was where South Carolina threatened to leave the Union because they …show more content…
The Compromise of 1850 was where California wanted to enter as a free state, but southern states prevented this. Henry Clay created a compromise where California entered as a free state, but the North had to agree to the fugitive slave law, and the New Mexico territory was open to popular sovereignty. Four years later, in the Kansas-Nebraska Act, the North got a railroad in Chicago, but the Missouri Compromise was taken out of effect and the North could decide if they wanted to be a free or slave state. This proves that popular sovereignty caused the Civil War because the slave states wanted more slave states and the free states wanted more free states, which in turn caused conflict in the new territories. Abraham Lincoln expressed his views on popular sovereignty in his Speech in Springfield, Illinois, “I charge him with having been a party to that conspiracy and to the deception for the sole purpose of nationalizing slavery.” In this he meant that there was now a chance for slavery to be national, instead of containing it to southern areas. He believed slavery was wrong and it would cause a divide in the nation, and that it did. Consequently, this conflict would later turn into aggression, because there was no longer a set line, and the people were willing to fight for what they …show more content…
Bleeding Kansas was when Kansas was allowed to vote on whether their state was a slave or free state. Missourians flooded into Kansas and voted at their polls in order to change the vote in favor of Kansas being a slave state. As a result of this, a Border War erupts between Missouri and Kansas. This proves that popular sovereignty caused the Civil War because, had the Missouri Compromise still been in place, this Border War would never have happened. In Edward Bridgman’s letter to his cousin, he says, “The thought of engaging in battle is not a pleasing one, but the free state man are compelled to.” In this letter it states how most people did not want to go to war, but they felt it was their duty. The Border War was the tipping point between slave states and free states and was the final straw into the Civil
The first sign of popular sovereignty not working was The Nullification Act. It supports that popular sovereignty helped cause the Civil War because it was the first sign of a civil war happening. The Nullification Act was where South Carolina threatened to leave the Union because they …show more content…
The Compromise of 1850 was where California wanted to enter as a free state, but southern states prevented this. Henry Clay created a compromise where California entered as a free state, but the North had to agree to the fugitive slave law, and the New Mexico territory was open to popular sovereignty. Four years later, in the Kansas-Nebraska Act, the North got a railroad in Chicago, but the Missouri Compromise was taken out of effect and the North could decide if they wanted to be a free or slave state. This proves that popular sovereignty caused the Civil War because the slave states wanted more slave states and the free states wanted more free states, which in turn caused conflict in the new territories. Abraham Lincoln expressed his views on popular sovereignty in his Speech in Springfield, Illinois, “I charge him with having been a party to that conspiracy and to the deception for the sole purpose of nationalizing slavery.” In this he meant that there was now a chance for slavery to be national, instead of containing it to southern areas. He believed slavery was wrong and it would cause a divide in the nation, and that it did. Consequently, this conflict would later turn into aggression, because there was no longer a set line, and the people were willing to fight for what they …show more content…
Bleeding Kansas was when Kansas was allowed to vote on whether their state was a slave or free state. Missourians flooded into Kansas and voted at their polls in order to change the vote in favor of Kansas being a slave state. As a result of this, a Border War erupts between Missouri and Kansas. This proves that popular sovereignty caused the Civil War because, had the Missouri Compromise still been in place, this Border War would never have happened. In Edward Bridgman’s letter to his cousin, he says, “The thought of engaging in battle is not a pleasing one, but the free state man are compelled to.” In this letter it states how most people did not want to go to war, but they felt it was their duty. The Border War was the tipping point between slave states and free states and was the final straw into the Civil