Running Header: 79568320 THE CIVIL WAR AND THE INSTITUTION OF SLAVERY
The Civil War and the Institution of Slavery
Introduction
In the past years there have been several information relating the institution of slavery and the Civil War. Some of the information given is true while some on the other hand are false. This paper attempts to describe the institution of slavery and the civil war and how they come to relate with each other.
Slavery
Slavery in the African American history started in the year 1630s and the 40s. This was the period when the courts attributed the Africans as slaves for life and would be involved in service to their white masters. The slavery stature by the Africans was a thing meant to be inherited by their children (Char, 2011). This terrible and inhumane state was set to end in the mid-1860s after an amendment of an article it stated: “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, nor any place subject to their jurisdiction.”
The Civil War
This stated as the defining moment in the American’s past period. Its scale was a unique one, as no other war could be compared to it in terms of scale of the casualties it produced. In terms of its social and political aspect, it had a severe effect. It brought with it the preservation of the Union, and successfully ended the slavery institution in addition to changing the correlation between the states and the government arm.
Relationship between Slavery Institution and the Civil War
In the 1860 presidential election, where Abraham Lincoln from Illinois was elected the president of the United States of America, he never got favor from the southern slave vote but only the northern states. Lincoln only pledged to put a stop to the expansion of the slavery institution (nps, 2005). The southerners were not convinced that Lincoln and his republican party would protect the slavery that was quite vast at the time. All of this took place during the cold war. The slaves were not used in the military; the white southerners were not quite willing to put the African American slaves in the military as they were with the white northerners. The slaves were not used as soldiers, but as were involved in the labor brigades who was composed of putting in place fortifications, digging latrines and hauling supplies.
The slaves were involved in toiling for the confederacy which was abhorred by the owners and other points of leadership. The slaves were involved in working in the frontline which was tedious and dangerous in comparison to working in the plantations. The slaves involved in working with the confederacy were young and were strictly watched over (History, 2010). This kept them away from spending time with their wife and children. Most slaves were used in the frontline for the fear of being lost and the bringing back of weakened slaves, these were the strong and more marketable ones. They consequently sent the weakened ones and uneasy to market slaves.
The relation between the institution of slavery and the civil war does not fade away easily; more so for the African American citizens who would never forget what their fore fathers did to change the American laws. The slavery in the event of the civil war was quite vast. Slavery was the cause for the break out of the war in addition to influencing the war as well as the law.
Abraham Lincoln first term was more against slavery while on the other hand the south was a harbour for economic development with the poor handling of slaves (Nosotro, 2010). Lincoln’s perception which varied between the north and the south caused people to hate him and so the war was an obvious occurrence. The president had the knowledge of the oncoming war and his option to go for the fight was not an easy choice as it would bring devastating effects to the country like death. He did get to know the importance of the effect of slavery and decided to terminate the institution.
The revolt present was put into force by another pressure group led by the French Toussaint who engineered slaves to a rebellious act in Haiti which led to wide spread demonstrations in the United States. The civil war was hence in place and consequently the slaves had new hope of the end to their misery. Societies voiced their concerns about the evil that comes with slavery with the help of several abolitionist among them John Brown on the initial case and the post period of the civil war (Foner, 2010). He then later was hanged for issuing guns to the slaves. Lincoln later abolished the institution which sparked off the end of the Civil war.
Conclusion
Even with the end of the civil war, there are still fresh minds between the black and white of revenge and hatred. Racism brought the country to its worst state, though the situation ended; the wounds still are a constant reminder of the severe ordeal they underwent in the hands of their captors. The institution of slavery provided a new physical out it to the war using its people and brought a new view of the present society.
Bibliography
Char, S. (2011, January). The History of Slavery and the Civil War in the Northwest. Retrieved May 23, 2011, from kuow.org: http://www.kuow.org/program.php?id=22430
Foner, E. (2010). Slavery and the Origins of the Civil War. Retrieved May 23, 2011, from Africans in America: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/tguide/tgsocw.html
History, D. (2010). The Civil War. Retrieved May 23, 2011, from http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/modules/civwar/historiography.cfm
Nosotro, R. (2010). The Institution of Slavery in the American Civil War. Retrieved May 23, 2011, from Hyper History: http://www.hyperhistory.net/apwh/essays/cot/t4w25uscivilwarslavery.htm
Nps. (2005, June). Slavery and the Civil War. Retrieved May 23, 2011, from http://www.nps.gov/liho/planyourvisit/upload/cw_slavery_site_bulletin.pdf
