Guided Essay
The Civil War: Why Did Texans Fight?
On February 23, 1861, the state of Texas voted to secede from the United States and join the Confederacy, having no idea what the future had ahead of them. Texas supported slavery and thought it was necessary to their way of life, which the government disagreed with. The southern states imported most of their goods which got harder to do when tariffs were also passed by the government. With only cotton on their plantations and slaves who were begging for freedom, Texas took their matters into their own hands and decided to secede to take focus on slavery, states’ rights, and sectionalism for themselves.
One reason Texans fought in the Civil War was that they supported slavery, unlike the Union. According to the Bureau of the Census, Texas had a total of 182,566 slaves working on plantations in 1860. That was almost a third of the state living without freedom! Texans were willing to fight over slavery because they needed others to help them on their plantations or they would go out of business quickly. Cotton was the only good that Texas could sell at that time, so multiple workers were necessary to raise a large plantation and lots of cash.
Another reason many Texans fought was for the situation on state’s …show more content…
Although they knew that some of them weren't the best things to be fighting for, they knew it was their only chance to make their state their way of “perfection”. Although slavery and states’ rights help explain why many Texans fought in the Civil War, it is clear that sectionalism was most important. Texas needed attention from the country’s government to show that they wanted to keep slaves in their state and to speak their mind. This is important today because even though the Civil War ended in a bloody battle, Texas was able to speak up and express what they
The Civil War: Why Did Texans Fight?
On February 23, 1861, the state of Texas voted to secede from the United States and join the Confederacy, having no idea what the future had ahead of them. Texas supported slavery and thought it was necessary to their way of life, which the government disagreed with. The southern states imported most of their goods which got harder to do when tariffs were also passed by the government. With only cotton on their plantations and slaves who were begging for freedom, Texas took their matters into their own hands and decided to secede to take focus on slavery, states’ rights, and sectionalism for themselves.
One reason Texans fought in the Civil War was that they supported slavery, unlike the Union. According to the Bureau of the Census, Texas had a total of 182,566 slaves working on plantations in 1860. That was almost a third of the state living without freedom! Texans were willing to fight over slavery because they needed others to help them on their plantations or they would go out of business quickly. Cotton was the only good that Texas could sell at that time, so multiple workers were necessary to raise a large plantation and lots of cash.
Another reason many Texans fought was for the situation on state’s …show more content…
Although they knew that some of them weren't the best things to be fighting for, they knew it was their only chance to make their state their way of “perfection”. Although slavery and states’ rights help explain why many Texans fought in the Civil War, it is clear that sectionalism was most important. Texas needed attention from the country’s government to show that they wanted to keep slaves in their state and to speak their mind. This is important today because even though the Civil War ended in a bloody battle, Texas was able to speak up and express what they