Since its end in 1865 historians have been trying to pinpoint the exact cause of the Civil War. Throughout the decades leading up to the war the Union had been unstable. Political leaders in all parties were trying to gain power for either the north or the south. As new territories were being introduced into the Union as states there became tension between the two regions. Each side knew that in order to maintain power their vision for the economy needed to be put into play, and territories needed to be emitted in to support their cause. Northerners sought to have a free labor, and free soil system without competition from slaves. By doing this northerners would be able to have small family farmers expand into the west, and room for commercial
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Many historians believe that northerners pushed for free labor not for their economic gain, but because they wanted slavery to end. During this time the abolitionist movement was gaining speed as people heard about the atrocities occurring on plantations. Many felt that slavery was a great injustice especially men like Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln sent a letter to his friend in which it included “As a nation…we began by declaring that ‘all men are created equal’. We now practically read it ‘all men are created equal except negroes”. Lincoln like many others felt that slaves were not property, but were human beings and deserved the same constitutional rights as all other citizens in America. Many other politicians were in agreement with Lincoln saying “We shall go home to our constituents, erect anew the standard of freedom, and call on the people to come to the rescue of the country from the domination of slavery. We will not despair, for the cause of human freedom is the cause of God”. Joshua Giddings felt so strongly about this he was even willing to see the dismemberment of the Union. In a speech delivered to congress Giddings stated “But I would rather see this Union rent into a thousand fragments than have my country disgraced, and its moral purity sacrificed, by the prosecution of a war for the extension of human
Many historians believe that northerners pushed for free labor not for their economic gain, but because they wanted slavery to end. During this time the abolitionist movement was gaining speed as people heard about the atrocities occurring on plantations. Many felt that slavery was a great injustice especially men like Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln sent a letter to his friend in which it included “As a nation…we began by declaring that ‘all men are created equal’. We now practically read it ‘all men are created equal except negroes”. Lincoln like many others felt that slaves were not property, but were human beings and deserved the same constitutional rights as all other citizens in America. Many other politicians were in agreement with Lincoln saying “We shall go home to our constituents, erect anew the standard of freedom, and call on the people to come to the rescue of the country from the domination of slavery. We will not despair, for the cause of human freedom is the cause of God”. Joshua Giddings felt so strongly about this he was even willing to see the dismemberment of the Union. In a speech delivered to congress Giddings stated “But I would rather see this Union rent into a thousand fragments than have my country disgraced, and its moral purity sacrificed, by the prosecution of a war for the extension of human