Introduction Flashcards
Context
By 1861 sectional unity between the North and South had completely dissolved. The victory of Abraham Lincoln and the Republicans in the 1860 presidential election led to the secession of several Southern states, which would go on to create the Confederacy under their new president, Jefferson Davis. Members of the confederacy held strong believes that the Republicans anti-slave expansion stance threatened their economy. Southern economy was based on a system of slavery, thus meaning that Southerns would loose their main source of income. Attempts at compromise were proposed, however failed and the first shots of the American Civil War were fired in 1861, when confederate forces fired on Northern troops stationed at Fort Sumter in Charleston Bay.
Factors
Some historians including James Ford Rhodes argue that the economic differences between the North and South was the main reason for the outbreak of civil war. Others, like William Gienapp argue that the main reason for the outbreak of civil war was the slave power conspiracy. Finally, historians such as Hugh Tulloch argue that the collapse of the 2nd party system was the main reason for the outbreak of the civil war in 1861.
Line of argument
This essay will argue that it was in fact the existence of a slave power conspiracy that was the main reason for the outbreak of Civil because it was the driving factor which resulted in the unravelling of other issues, such as the breakdown of the second party system.
