Road to Civil War

The road to Civil War consisted of various events that took place around 1800. The events lead to one another and eventually the Civil War was inevitable. However, there were some of the events, which, if handled properly, could have prevented the war.

Slavery was a major concern leading to the Civil War. In 1787, United States’ constitution was drafted, and it covered several provisions concerning slavery. For instance, section 9 of Article I permitted the sustained importation of slaves. In addition, section 2 of Article IV banned the provision of any aid to escaping slaves and necessitating their return if triumphant. Furthermore, section 2 of Article I recognized slaves as “three-fifth” of a person to gather for calculations of each state’s official census for representation and government taxation. Finally, Article V did not allow any amendments or legislation altering the provision concerning slave importation until 1808. This led to discomfort among the slaves (Kellogg, 2010). 

In 1798, just before Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin, slaves were somehow relieved that slavery was ending. Farmers had come to realize that it was more expensive to sustain slaves, compared to the profit they get. Cotton was a labor-intensive crop nevertheless. Its fiber could only be detached from the muggy, embedded seeds, a hard process. The slaves’ hope was short-lived, when the cotton was invented. Cotton gin made cotton lucrative crop and a significant export for the South (Hazen, 2004). Therefore, many more slaves were required for the expansion of cotton growing because of the increased demand. Slave ownership became a sweltering national concern and finally led to the Civil War (Kellogg, 2010).

In 1790, slavery was still legal, and the Naturalization Act of 1790 edged naturalization to aliens who were “free white persons” and, therefore, singled out indentured slaves, laborers, free African-Americans, and thereafter Asian-Americans. During this time, there were a lot of conflicts for the support of merchants and financiers in the whole country. Jeffersonians were not for the idea of the fresh national Bank, the navy as well as federal taxes. This lead to a series of wars, which African-Americans were used.

After 1800, the purchase of Louisiana by President Thomas Jefferson, led to dislocation of Native Americans and their living standards. This was by advocating for a series of policies. Although he disallowed the northward extension of slavery, he supported the westward extension because he feared eruption of civil war (Arnold & Wiener, 2002).

Eventually in 1820, the first signs of the Civil War were witnessed in the conflict that resulted in the Missouri Comprise of 1820. The Manifest Destiny led to the westward expansion of America that led to a series of conflict with Mexico. Americans believed it was their destiny to expend to the west (Arnold & Wiener, 2002).      

By 1850, there were more stringent slave laws, which led to a boiling point in the north-south division, pro-slavery and abortionist forces.

Dread Scott Case was also a significant milestone on the road to Civil War. Dread Scott Case was toppled with the acceptance of the 13^th and 14^th amendments of the constitution. To make matters worse, the election of 1856 was an abnormally heated race. The republicans were radicals whose triumph would result in the Civil War (Arnold & Wiener, 2002).

Slave trade was a major cause of the civil war. Controversy over slavery, coupled with succession, led to civil war. In my opinion, appropriate slave laws would have prevented the Civil War, at least in many ways. The division among American states was based on the issue of the slave trade. The northern states aimed to abolish slavery in the Southern parts by aggressive war. In contrast, the Southerners attempted to expand slavery the western region. The whole issue would have been prevented if it were for the slavery issue.