Tobias Thomas
November 18, 2011
Puzzle Pieces
Looking upon all the puzzle pieces that led up to the Civil War one of the key pieces of the puzzle were the Abolitionists. The Abolitionists had the power of the media. I think the reason the Abolitionists were a key part of the beginning of the Civil War was because they got the word out about the reality of slavery. A good example of that was William Lloyd Garrison, editor of the Liberator from Boston Massachusetts, helped to form the National Anti-Slavery Society which published the harsh truth of what slavery was. The economic and civil differences, the Kansas and Nebraska Act which gave them the power of popular sovereignty, and Abraham Lincoln running for president were defiantly key pieces in the lead up to separation of the North and South.(2)
The differences between the North and South were a primary factor in completing the puzzle to the Civil War. The South had their cash cow (Cotton), and they were dependent on Slaves to milk it. The North economy on the other hand, didn’t rely on subserviently but on industry. The Northern urban life and Southern agricultural high society created a difference in ethics. This difference in ideals set the infrastructure for the Civil War.
The differences between the North and South were a primary factor in completing the puzzle to the Civil War. The South had their cash cow (Cotton), and they were dependent on Slaves to milk it. The North economy on the other hand, didn’t rely on subserviently but on industry. The Northern urban life and Southern agricultural high society created a difference in ethics. This difference in ideals set the infrastructure for the Civil War.
The Bleeding Kansas was a series of events that took place over a five year span that was set in motion by the Kansas Nebraska act which gave Kansas the ability to choose if it would be a slave or anti slave state also known as popular sovereignty. The first act took place when the North sent in settlers to vote to make Kansas a free state, yet the South sent border ruffians (who were almost like a pro slavery mulisha fueled by the hatred of the Northerns in the idea of freed slaves living side by side them) from Missouri to sway the vote to pro-slavery. Several altercations and battles took place; the first battle was the sacking of Lawrence in which the boarder ruffians destroyed the printing press and the hotel, and looted the village. The following day two congressman get in a physical fight in which the one that is anti-slavery almost gets beat to death. John Brown comes in from the North and violently kills 5 pro-slavery men. In the end of Bleeding Kansas 56 people had died. Shortly after, the Civil War began.(1, 3, 4)
You could then say that after everything had happened with Bleeding Kansas, the Abraham Lincoln running for president was the last straw for the Southerns. And when it came to the point where he was expected to win, it was the final nail in the coffin. All of the factors led up to the completing of the puzzle leading up to the Civil War.I do strongly believe that the issues that stem from the Bleeding Kansas still exist with the greed and ignorance. In modern day, in a much larger scale we have let history repeat itself with our lust for oil that we have allowed to separate us.
Citations
(1) Foner, Eric. “Bleeding Kansas”. Give Me Liberty!: an American History. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2008. 463+. Print
(2) Foner, Eric. “William Lloyd Garrison”. Give Me Liberty!: an American History. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2008. 407, 423, 425+, 430+. Print
(3) Foner, Eric. “Kansa, Violence in”. Give Me Liberty!: an American History. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2008. 464+. Print
(4) Foner, Eric. “Kansa Nebraska Act”. Give Me Liberty!: an American History. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2008. 459-462, 464, 466+. Print
