dipity

Group7: We choose the following entries1)Lincoln's First Inaugural Address 2)Dred Scott vs. Sandford 3)The meaning of the 4th of July 4)Lincoln's speech in Springfield 5)A Summary of the United States that seceded from the union 6)Map of Slave crops,1890 7)Tariff of 1832 8)1860 Election (Cartoon)We do not believe that events such as states vs. federal states, slave states vs. non-slave states, and economic and social differences between the North and the South contributed to the civil war. The war ultimately would have happened because of all the conflicting personalities and events at that time, the secession of states was a culmination of over 30 years of debate over slavery and extensions of slavery into new territories the first state to secede was South Carolina. Slavery was such a big part of the civil war times and were very profitable, there were four main varieties of agricultural production prior to the Civil War they were tobacco, rice, cotton, and sugar. Unfortunately slaves were used to work on the plantations which made them property not human beings. On March 6 1857 the Supreme Court according to Dred Scott vs. Sandford stated that slaves were not even considered citizens of the United States. The Dred Scott decision was eventually overturned by the 13th and 14th amendments. Lincoln felt strongly against slavery although he had slaves of his own, he urges that slavery should be placed on "ultimate extinction". He then states how everyone is not equal in color but all are equal in the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiess.

Group 3 considers Group 2's Work: In the American Union document, we agree that articles like this don't really have a direct impact on the Civil War beginning as tensions were already high between sides. It seems like the major acts and compromises were what directly caused the Civil War. The need for cotton as shown in the cotton map helps describe why slavery was considered so important in the South. The profitability of the crops was the main reason why the South wanted to remain as an institution and we feel like it was one of the most important factors for the Civil War starting. The South wasn't going to give up their sustainable way of life unless they were forced to. The Missouri compromise was put in place to establish a boundary between Slave state and non-slave states. The impact of the compromise was obvious as the institution of slavery was so polarizing at the time that it clearly further fueled the fire of the debate. In the Meaning of the 4th of July article, it was interesting to see how Americans have changed the meaning over time. As African-Americans were once viewed as sub-human slaves when the 4th of July took a substantial meaning for Americans. Now, the day is celebrated by all Americans as a symbol of our freedom, despite its original negative meaning to slaves. With the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions, the legislatures of both states considered the Alien and Sedition Acts unconstitutional. These acts allowed the United States to deport people for a variety of reasons including if the United States was at war with their home country. This further increased the angst between the Southern and Northern states and was a direct contributor to the Civil War. The Tariff of 1832 was not well received by the South. It was originally implemented to reduce the tariffs of 1828, but the South felt like it was still not enough. Overall, we feel like the events that group 2 focused on definitely had an impact on the outbreak of the Civil War and without some of the resolutions and tariffs, it could have eased some of the tension between the North and the South and done a bit to possibly prevent the Civil War.

Group7 considered Group 3's work: We see that group 3 read some of the same entries we did such as Lincoln's First Inaugural Address and the United States seceded from the union, we found that the civil war could not have been avoided because of the overwelming use of slaves in the south and the almost non exsistant use of slaves in the north. Slaves made plantations very profitable and although Louisiana seceded from the Union we believed that with all the events during that time period the civil war would have happened no matter what. Lincoln was not popular to those who wanted to keep slavery around, as group 3 discussed Lincoln's being voted in caused more states to secede because of his views. Group 3 did a great job portraying the ideas of Lincoln and the Compromise in the south.

Group 1 selected the following events: 1. Pro-Slavery Sentiment in the Senate 1837 2. 1860 Elections Cartoon 3. The American Union 4. The Meaning of July 4th for the negro 5. Tariff of 1828 6. Tariff of 1832. We feel as though some of these events could have lead to the civil war and some could not have. For example the 1. Pro-Slavery Sentiment in the Senate 1837 by John Calhoun could have very well led to the civil war. His insightful hate speech could have enticed both sides to a war actually. With the south he could have fueled their passionate stance on slavery, raising them to arms to stand against anyone that would want to take that away from them. As well on the other side, the north, he could have incited them to stand up for what they felt was right, to put a stop to such volatile words being spoken on the floor of a branch of their very own government. Now on the other hand, an event like the 1860 Elections depicted in the painting, we feel could not have lead the country to civil war. The imagery, though tells such a story in itself, isn't mainstream compelling enough to fling an entire country in to a civil war. The image merely depicts the candidates all vying for a certain area that they are popular in. As well as that, the image shows the division in the country, and the lack of unity amongst not only the politicians, but the nation as well.

(Group 5) We researched: 1. The Missouri Compromise, 2. Transcript of the Missouri Compromise, 3. Pro-Slavery Sentiment in the Senate, 4. Lincoln's Speech in Springfield, 5. Tariff of 1828, 6. Tariff of 1832. Through our research we've come to opinion that, although there were many indicators & warnings of the imminent conflict, the Civil War could not have been prevented. The diverging interests of North and South were just too different to be overcome by conventional means, in our view. The Missouri Compromise written in 1820 was an attempt to control the admittance of slave/nonslave states by creating an imaginary boundary. The problem is in the fact that the North had more more land area in the agreement, which gave them greater opportunity for more new nonslave states than slave. The Tariff of 1828 was a protective measure for the Northern economy made by the government to keep Northern manufacturers competitive. These higher tariffs on goods that the South did not produce hurt them, along with less British money being spent into the Southern agricultural economy. The government tried to fix their earlier mistake by passing the Tariff of 1832. The Tariff of 1832 eased the tariffs imposed in 1828 in an attempt to appease the South, but it didn't completely repair things. In Lincoln's Speech in Springfield 1858, Lincoln uses slavery as the big topic for a springboard into the Illinois senate. This senate post was his launching pad to presidency. Most clear support to our thesis was John C. Calhoun's speech to the U.S. Senate about the "Positive Good" of Slavery in 1837. Calhoun was a very intelligent man, public servant, and former vice president. In a nutshell he believed that the South and slavery were too intertwined to be separated. Calhoun says, "We of the South will not, cannot surrender our institutions." Calhoun foreshadows that the Abolition movement is here to stay and that war is the only possible outcome of their course in 1837. "It is easy to see the end. By the necessary course of events, if left to themselves, we must become, finally, two people... The conflicting elements would burst the Union asunder, powerful as are the links which hold it together. Abolition and the Union cannot co-exist." In summation, we believe that the Civil War could not have been avoided even though conflict was obviously being foreshadowed, because the differences between the two factions were too great to be settled by conventional means. (Do you think either side could have their stance on slavery changed with only words?)