Why was slavery such a big issue during the civil war?

Answer 1

Because the slave states and the free states were two very different sections, and new Acts of Congress were liable to benefit one section at the expense of the other.

After the Mexican war, and the acquisition of new territory, it was getting more difficult to create new slave-states, so Congress was looking more pro-Northern.

So the slave-states felt that their way of life was threatened.

Answer 2

The Northern states did not agree with slavery. The Southern states wanted what the Northern states had but did not want to do the work, so they made slaves do the work. The Northern states did not agree with slavery. The Southern states wanted what the Northern states had but did not want to do the work, so they made slaves do the work.

Answer 3

It was not a "big issue" so much as an exacerbating element. Contrary to what many people have learned, the American Civil War was not fought over slavery. The question of slavery was used to try to force the Confederate states into line with Union interests. The American Civil War was fought over the issue of State rights over Federal rights. Several of the southern states did what to determine for themselves whether slavery along with many other questions would be right for them. They did not want the Federal government telling them what they could and could not do.

Were the Civil War fought over the question of slavery, the Emancipation Proclamation would have been the first shot of the war, rather than being enacted 1 January 1863 (the war fired up 12 April 1861), nearly two full years after the war had started.

Answer 4

The issue was that the South was using slavery to make its money and people knew that manufacturing in the North was less expensive due to slavery in the South.

In the North and the South, people were prejudiced against Blacks. However, a large majority of Northerners did not want slavery in their states. The South wanted to break away from the North.

Very few Americans wanted to have an armed conflict among the states. It came to an armed struggle because the powers in the South and its opponents within the 1861 Federal cabinet failed to reach a compromise as it had done so in the past.

Slavery was an emotional issue and it was an American made problem. In itself, slavery did not cause the US Civil War. The US Supreme Court ruled in 1857 that it was legal. Its expansion into the US western territories became a problem, however, few would have wanted to resort to a war.

Answer 5

Slavery was one of the divisive elements that in part, brought about the South's desire for independence. It was not, however, the reason why the US Civil War was fought. US President Lincoln sought to assure the South that he had no intention of interfering with slavery where it already existed. Plus, Lincoln knew that the US Supreme Court ruled in 1857, that slavery was legal. When Lincoln took office, there was no chance that an amendment to abolish slavery could be passed.Lincoln used the Emancipation Proclamation as a war measure to help end the Southern rebellion.

Answer 6

It wasn't so much an issue of slavery, but one of states rights. The states felt they had the right to have slavery if they wanted it and the federal government was overstepping the boundaries between states and federal. When Lincoln won the election southern states were sure he was going to pass a law making slavery illegal so they left the union. Lincoln on his part saw the states leaving as a breaking up of the union and was determined not to let them leave. Hence, the two sides were formed and the war started. It is simplistic to say that "slavery caused the war." It goes much deeper than that and even today we still argue over states rights and federal government.