Support your opinion: could the Civil War have been avoided? After reading this unit’s materials, be sure to include the influence of at least one cultural, political, economic, or social movement on whether or not the Civil War was avoidable. Minimum of 200 words
Journal VIIIa: Avoiding Civil War
One of the ways that the civil war would have been avoided is compromised and agreeing to the gradual abolition of the slave trade in the South (Weeks, 2013). Slavery was the major cause of political tension in the 1850s. The Southern leaders threatened secession upon prevention of the speared of slavery. After Lincoln won the presidential election, southerners feared that their ability to promote pro-slavery laws was weakened and this their only option was disunion. The North supported the abolition of slavery in the South while the South fought to protect continued slavery. Therefore, as (Weeks 2013) notes, gradual emancipation while compensating the former owners might have eventually led to free slavery South and thus preventing the civil war. Another way that the civil war would have been prevented was through the North using economic pressures to force the South to emancipate the slaves (Weeks, 2013). The North was urbanized, industrialized, and constructed prosperous farms. On the other hand, the South focused on plantation agriculture. The South sold their goods majorly to the North. Therefore, if the North stopped importing goods from the South and lay conditions for the South to put to end slavery for continued economic relations, then the South would have had no choice but emancipate the slaves.
Reference
Weeks, W. E., Lafeber, W., Iriye, A., & Cohen, W. I. (2013). The new Cambridge history of American foreign relations. Cambridge University Press.
In the previous unit, we concluded with a close look at the rising political discourse emerging in the significant changes to the American population. What is often an overlooked fact is that the idea of America as a “melting pot” was perhaps never truer than in the northern cities along the Atlantic coast. This was especially true in terms of New York, which, with its room to sprawl and natural access to miles of coastline perfect for shipping, was a natural starting point for many Europeans. American Civil War European Migrations Among the most desperate would be the Irish, suffering from a potato crop famine and blatant subjugation by wealthy English landlords. The Potato Famine, coupled with limited opportunities on the European mainland, made America the most likely chance for a better life. Unfortunately, for many, this was not found. Many Irish would end up in cheaply built and over-occupied shacks called tenements. With poor to no sewage systems and rampant malnutrition, the region was a cesspool of disease. Those healthy enough to work often could not find employment, as many established businesses displayed “No Irish” signs, fearing that the expected cheaper labor would still not make up for the lost business to be expected. On top of everything, the Protestant nation still held grave bias against loyal Catholics, which included the Irish, and used this as motivation against supporting them. The Irish, however, were not the only group to migrate, and not all experiences were equal. Another of the largest migrations at this time were the Germans. Fueled by political unrest in their homeland, many Germanic families would come to America. Unlike the poverty-stricken Irish, however, they often had the collateral or capitol to settle west of the coast. In fact, one could say that these Germans were among the first to truly take advantage of the expansion fever in America, eventually settling much of what is now the Midwest, including cities like Chicago. Still, religion would be a factor for many, and as most of the German migrants were Catholic, this too caused rampant segregation in these early settlements. Just as the East and Midwest were growing, so was the quickly developing West, but for different reasons. The Gold Rush of 1849 drew more than just prospectors from the east. It caught the eye of another major migration group seeking fortune: the Chinese. Like most prospectors, very few Chinese migrants would find the treasures they came for, but with expansion came opportunity. The railroad was quickly carving up the western landscape, and this demand required cheap, unskilled labor. The Chinese would become a major labor force with this process, and this led to the deaths of many from explosives, breathing in dangerous particles, or simply workplace accidents. Like the Irish, where they drew ire was with their willingness to work for near nothing to survive, which undercut many non-Chinese family men, making them unable to obtain work. Abolition This fear of job loss was not unique to these migrations. There was one additional group that perhaps caused the most concern, even to immigrants: freed slaves. As became clear when we discussed abolition in Unit VI, and in the pre-war North, this was especially a concern. While slavery was felt by many to be an unnecessary, racist charge, many of those same people feared what would happen if all of those laborers were suddenly equal. For persons who knew nothing of ownership or possession, and who had for generations lived in and on the absolute bare minimum, an influx of new labor into the northern market was a legitimate fear. For generations, new immigrants had fulfilled the unskilled labor need in factories and ports. Successive generations were able to improve their situations or move out.