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Slavery had been a divisive issue in the United States well before the Civil War. While the Founding Fathers were debating the exact wording of the Declaration of Independence, there was a debate to include the word slavery or not in the document. The idea was that the Colonies were being held as slaves to the crown, but the paradox was that if they were going to state that, how could they in good consciousness keep African slaves as well?

After the Revolution, there was great power struggles in Congress to address slavery. During the early 1800s, the Slave Trade was banned by the British, and internal slave trade began in the United States. This meant that there was trading of slaves between slaves, and Congress had to act to protect the rights of interstate commerce, even if it meant dealing with human lives. Also, there was a struggle to keep the balance of power between the quickly industrializing North and the mostly agrarian South. Whenever a slave state was brought into the Union, a free state would have to be as well. A compromise had been given in 1820 stated that any state below the bottom of Missouri would be a slave state while any above (except Missouri) would be a free state. This would determine the status of the West and slavery.

In 1850, a new compromise was reached in Congress to allow territories that were to become states would have the freedom to choose if they were going to be Free or Slave. A struggle to determine if Kansas would become a slave or free state came to a boil. Many from both sides flooded the state before the vote was to happen, and fighting broke out. During the next few years, battles between pro-slavery and pro-freedom factions broke out, causing the area to be known as Bleeding Kansas.

The final act in leading up to the Civil War was the Republican party's official stance as being pro-Freedom. With the election of Lincoln, many in the South thought that Lincoln would ban slavery (something that he did not do until it became a political necessity) in the South.

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15y ago
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15y ago

Slavery took 200 years to become a divisive issue because it took 200 years to become truly profitable.

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11y ago

The fact that the North wanted to abolish slavery & the South didn't was the major cause of the Civil War, which occurred 1861-65.

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14y ago

Because the north realized its cruelty and the south's economy DEPENDED on slavery and for the slaves to work in the feilds

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11y ago

Under slavery, certain people are treated as property; this contradicts the notion of basic human rights.

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i dont kn0w why was it

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Q: How did the issue of slavery divide the union?
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What issue was decided by the US Civil War?

Actually there were two major issues that were decided by the US Civil War. The end of the Confederate rebellion made it clear that secession from the United States was eventually as being illegal. The Union's victory in the US Civil War also meant that slavery would be abolished in the US by the 13th amendment.


What best describes why The North engaged in the US Civil War?

To preserve the Union. The North (Union) went to war with the South (Confederates) because of slavery. Lincoln wanted to abolish slavery and signed an act into law that emancipated the slaves throughout the United States. The Southern states wanted to keep slavery so we (the confederate states) removed ourselves from the Union and declared war against the Union.


How was slavery a sectional issue before 1820?

Most white Americans saw slavery as mainly a local issue


What did the North and South want during the Civil War?

The North wanted to abolish slavery while The South wanted to continue slavery.Not quite. The south didn't want anything persay. The cicil war is often catagorized as being a war over slavery, and this is false. The north was fighting to keep the union in tact. Abraham Lincoln stated that "If (he) could save the Union without freeing any slaves I(he) would do it, and if (he) could save the Union by freeing all slaves, (he) would do it....What (he did) about slavery, and the coloured race, (he did) because (he believed) it helps to save the Union."The south was fighting the was as a constitutional issue. They felt that the abolition of slavery and the compromises of 1850 and the Missourri Compromise impeded on their 10th amendment right to decide for themselves.


When did slavery become an issue The start of the war middle or the end.?

slavery became an issue many years before the civil war.

Related questions

What issue continue to divide the country in the early 1800s?

the expansion of slavery


How the did the issue of slavery divide the north and the south?

trick question it united them


What were the social causes of the civil war?

state rights over the issue of withdrawal from the union and the issue of slavery


Did the issue of slavery delay several western stated admission to the union?

Yes.


What state of slavery came to be an issue in 1819 when what asked to join the union?

Missouri


Why did slavery become a major national issue in 1850?

the issue of slavery became important again in 1850. At that time, california requested to join the union as a free state.


The problem of slavery came to be an issue in 1819 when what state asked to join the Union?

Missouri


How the slavery led to the growing divide of the Union prior to President Lincolen?

hey my name is so and so


What did the south want from the issue of secession?

the south wanted slavery to still exist even if the union was split


How did regional differences and issue of slavery divide the constitutional convention?

Because of Abraham Lincoln


Did the Civil War started the issue from slavery?

I'm not exactly sure what you're asking. If you're asking if the civil war started the issue of slavery, no. Slavery was always an issue. If you're asking if slavery started the civil war, not exactly. The point of the civil war according to Abraham Lincoln was to preserve the Union. The Confederacy was only fighting in defense. Eventually slavery became abolished as an aftermath of the civil war, but the only reason the war itself was started was in order to preserve the Union.


Main conflict of the civil war?

contrary to poplar belief, states rights and not slavery was the main issue. Slavery became the issue after President Lincoln issued the emmancipation proclamation, freeing the slaves in the union and border states.