Considering all the wars and confrontations that occurred in America, the Civil War is known to be the bloodiest and most devastating of them all to shape our perceptions of liberty. It was a war which turned neighbors against one another and deeply divided our nation. For its duration, 600,000 to 700,000 Americans lost their lives. Tensions rose between the North and the South ultimately leading to the South’s secession from the Union of the states. The most important issues causing America to rip itself apart and lead to the death, destruction and devastation that was the Civil War were threefold: state vs. federal power, the legitimacy of slavery, and the increase of western expansion. As the conflict was evolving over these issues,
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Eric Foner’s states in Give Me Liberty, he states, “Slavery shaped the lives of all Americans, white as well as black” For the South, slavery was not seen as an issue as it represented the manual labor force for the southern economy consisting of African American men, women, and children. In contradistinction, Lincoln said , “A house divided against itself cannot stand, I believe this government cannot endure, premaritally half slave and half free”. (Gettsyburg Address) This is evidence that the ongoing issue of slavery needed to be resolved to avoid the country turning one against another. Alexander Stephens in an essay mentions “...and most leading statement at the time of the formation of the old constitution were that the enslavement of the African was in violation of the laws of nature; that is in principle, socially morally and politically(sic).” This sentiment is used as justification when it is felt that the Declaration of Independence is false and that not all men are treated equally as it would appear to be selectively applied to its authors and their …show more content…
The definition of freedom was viewed differently depending upon how the interpretation fit a group 's agenda. In the North, Lincoln describes “Each man can do as he pleases with the product he creates" in comparison to the South where the ideal is “...men to do as they please with other men, and the product of other men’s labor.” In other words, the people of Maryland worked to define liberty by abolishing slavery within the state heralding an attempt to create equality among all people and allow the tenets of the Declaration of Independence to apply to all people. ( Abraham Lincoln, Address at Sanitary Fair) Maryland was an example proving that liberty should be focused on the equality of all people’s
Eric Foner’s states in Give Me Liberty, he states, “Slavery shaped the lives of all Americans, white as well as black” For the South, slavery was not seen as an issue as it represented the manual labor force for the southern economy consisting of African American men, women, and children. In contradistinction, Lincoln said , “A house divided against itself cannot stand, I believe this government cannot endure, premaritally half slave and half free”. (Gettsyburg Address) This is evidence that the ongoing issue of slavery needed to be resolved to avoid the country turning one against another. Alexander Stephens in an essay mentions “...and most leading statement at the time of the formation of the old constitution were that the enslavement of the African was in violation of the laws of nature; that is in principle, socially morally and politically(sic).” This sentiment is used as justification when it is felt that the Declaration of Independence is false and that not all men are treated equally as it would appear to be selectively applied to its authors and their …show more content…
The definition of freedom was viewed differently depending upon how the interpretation fit a group 's agenda. In the North, Lincoln describes “Each man can do as he pleases with the product he creates" in comparison to the South where the ideal is “...men to do as they please with other men, and the product of other men’s labor.” In other words, the people of Maryland worked to define liberty by abolishing slavery within the state heralding an attempt to create equality among all people and allow the tenets of the Declaration of Independence to apply to all people. ( Abraham Lincoln, Address at Sanitary Fair) Maryland was an example proving that liberty should be focused on the equality of all people’s