American Civil War: Unrest Over Slavery in 1861 - Research Paper

Introduction

In 1861, the American civil war began due to unrest between the southern and northern states over slavery. Eleven Confederate states broke away from the Union when Abraham Lincoln was elected as president. The states formed their government responsible for carrying out major affairs and running the southern states. Consequently, many people were captured from Africa to America in the 17th and 18th century and forced into slavery. The south greatly relied on slaves in their farms while the Union was against slavery. According to Lincoln, he described himself to be anti-slavery in nature and concluded that if slavery is not a crime, then nothing is a crime (McPherson 1862). This increased tension between the Union and the Southern states significantly.

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Fredrick Douglas, the black leader, was often urged by Republicans, abolitionists, and Lincoln to fight against slavery slaveholders (McPherson 1862). Republicans and abolitionist claimed that the war to gain liberty must start with the destruction of slavery. The groups established the strength of the Confederacy States was from the labor provided by slaves. Slaves in the southern states provided labor in the fields enabling the state to have a large army of whites people ready for combat than the north (McPherson 1862). In addition, slaves were significant in the Confederate armies; they provided service to the armies and kept them well supplied. Thousands of slaves took various roles including; cooks, laborers, teamsters, musicians, servants, and supported in many areas.

Gradually, the question of converting the black labor in the Sothern states into an asset of the north rang in the minds of the northern people. The idea of freeing them and making them work for the Union was well received. In September 1862, a special cabinet meeting was called by Lincoln; he addressed them the time had come for them to issue a proclamation of emancipation (McPherson 1862). This major factor behind the fall of the Confederacy states. By ceasing black labor from the south, its strength would cease enabling the Union to trounce it. The decree of liberty for slave's freedom was largely received by many black people, abolitionist, and Republicans. Democrats and the border states although vehemently opposed the proclamation.

Confederate states did not adopt guerilla welfare to fight the military supreme Northern side because of the slaves amongst them (Neely 2016, p. 377). Edmund Ruffin book written in 1861, the eve of civil, he tried to explain how the use of Guerilla welfare would work against the north and promote independence in the Confederate states although slaves acted as a barrier that made it hard for the Confederate states to use the military strategy. For instance; Gary W. Gallagher, argued that that the threats posed by the two governments, in a slave-based society, slaves acted as the major obstacle for the Confederate policy of guerilla welfare (Neely 2016, p. 377). In addition, Reid Mitchel added that fighting guerilla welfare was hard, mainly because the Confederacy was trying to keep the slaves intact (Neely 2016, p. 377). Guerilla welfare would allow slaves to escape from the white control threatening the security of their former master and their property. According to Edmund, the use of guerilla welfare evens the odds between the northern and the southern states (Neely 2016, p. 378). Hence the fear of insecurity from slaves made the adoption of the policy impossible, facilitating the defeat of the Confederates.

According to Robert Engs, he denotes that slaves freed themselves (McPherson 1886, p.1). The slaves viewed the civil war as an opportunity for liberty first. They escaped their southern masters eventually leading to the emancipation proclamation. The slaves acted strategically to place their freedom in the war Agenda. This action weakened the south who vastly depended on slaves for labor. The slaves withdrew from their Confederate owners and joined the union army playing an active role in the removal of the Confederates governments (Edward and Nesbit 1886 p.2).

Moreover, slaves seized any opportunity they got to flee to the Unions border where they were aided. Pressure builds up against the Confederates due to the constant struggle with the Unions governments and slaves rendering them weak. The Union focused on destroying the ability of slave labor to feed the Confederacy. The willingness of slaves to cooperate with the Union served as an ultimate weapon for the Union's superiority. It is also important to note that slaves created a favorable ground for the emancipation of slaves. For instance; based on Edward and Nesbit (1886 p.5), the escape of slaves to the Unions border and the reaction of Major General Benjamin Butler shaped the legal verbiage outlining the process in which emancipation could be incorporated into the existing law.

According to Emberton (2012 p. 30), slaves were responsible for escorting Yankees out of the Southern-dominated states. The slaves also accompanied federal soldiers into the Confidence states. Slaves provided prisoners of war with a way to exit from the Confederate states and join the Union soldiers. Slaves provided ease of navigation into the Confederate states. In addition, slaves hid escaped prisoners for weeks and fed them as they waited for an opportunity to escape the Confederate States.

Moreover, in states like California, slaves had elaborate systems to aid prisoners of war to escape (Hahn 2013 p.313). They had a slave pilot who rode them by the river and helped the prisoners escape. Hence, slaves played a double role in helping the Union to gain dominance in the Confederacy states. Their helped thousands of escaped prisoners demonstrating the poor administration in the Southern States, which helped boost the Unions confidence.

The Confederate Congress amended the conscription policy on 11th October 1862 (Sacher 2017 p. 269). They revised significant issues pertaining the home-front occupation which covered all roles including teachers, nurses, and many more forgetting the fundamental need to control the slave's population on the states (Sacher 2017 p. 269). Overseers were given the role of supervising the enormous population of slaves, which was a difficult task. The well being of slaves took the confederacy's attention and drained its resources. The focus on slaves gave the Union an advantage over the Confederacy states because the Union focused on taking control of the Confederacy states. Besides, Confederacy States were mainly concern with their security against slaves that they did not notice that they were losing control in the States. For instance, in California; the states had people sympathizing for slave's freedom leading to its division (Hahn 2013 p.313). The division of the C

Conclusion

In conclusion, the demise of the Confederacy states was due to the heavy reliance on slaves. The context outlines that Lincoln's emancipated proclamation resulted due to the realization of Heavy Southern dependence on slaves. In addition, slaves shaped the legal verbiage, which established the process of incorporating emancipation in the existing laws. Slaves escaping from their masters rendered the southern weak depriving them of essential labor. Moreover, the focus of the Confederacy states on slave's security took them off the Unions plans resulting in the Unions dominance. The Confederates were also losing control in their States due to the aggression of slaves in helping Unions soldiers and prisoners of war. Slaves joining the Union strengthened them against; hence, the Confederate States found themselves in a difficult situation which they could not easily avoid. Slaves also limited the Unions ability to use guerilla welfare because they escaped with the slightest opportunity. The use of guerilla welfare in the war would have equaled the Southern and Northern states. Hence, the presence of slaves in the Confederacy states acted as a burden in the war; although they provided labor, they engaged with the Union and sought freedom continuously against the Confederacy states weakening them. Conclusively, the engagement of slaves in the Civil war led to the demise of the Confederate states.

Work Cited

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Emberton, Carole. "'Only Murder Makes Men': Reconsidering the Black Military Experience." The Journal of the Civil War Era, vol. 2, no. 3, Aug. 2012, pp. 369-93. Project MUSE, doi:10.1353/cwe.2012.0078.

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