Paper Example on State's Rights: the Role of the Federal Government and the Constitution

Introduction

The original free states after English colonization in the 1700s were independent and used to making their decisions and ignoring impositions by the former colonizer who still maintained ties with the states. When the American Constitution was passed, it created the federal government which would oversee the states. In the 1820s and 30s, a heated debate emerged as to which powers should be exercised by the federal government and which ones should be left to the states. The controversy was elicited by the divisive issue of slavery. The Southerners viewed the Northerners as slowly crippling towards interfering with slavery in their region.

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The constitution had strengthened the federal government in many ways including taxation and control over state militia but still allowed the states to enjoy certain rights without interference by the federal government. The Tenth Amendment, in particular, states that "the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively or to the people". This amendment was interpreted by the Southerners to mean that they were assured of continued autonomy in handling most of their affairs especially internal.

The North and the South enjoyed even representation the Congress implying that no one would dictate to the other. However, the North attracted new states as the Union expanded westwards leading to an imbalance in the Congress between the North and the South. To counter the possible negative impact of this imbalance and possible exercise of power by the North against the South, the Southerners argued for states' rights and a weaker federal government. In the 1850s, the Southerners argued that despite having joined the Union in 1780s, they retained the power to cancel the uniting agreement through secession, and unless they were given back the power to protect themselves against any interference by the federal government, they would secede. Their fear was that the North would manipulate their way towards abolishing slavery through their powers in the Congress as they were over-represented and outnumbered the Southerners.

The Southerner's call for a constitutional amendment to protect states against interference caused a disagreement that led to a legal compromise, arguments, and debates. For example, the Compromise of 1850 and the Kansas-Nebraska Act in 1854. Nevertheless, the Southerners felt that the resulting laws favored the North and their economy while slowly stifling the South out of their existence. The Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 was the single legal compromise that seemed to favor the Southerners as it required the Northern states to return slaves who escaped to their territories from the South. Even though the Southerners felt that they were honored by the law, the Northerners refused to implement it. Instead, the Northerners strongly resented the law resulting in non-violent attempts which still culminated in violent ones. In 1859, violence erupted as John Brown attempted to raid slavery at Harpers Ferry in Virginia confirming to the South that the Northern was up to ending slavery. The tension was now so high between the North and the South as it was crystal clear that the Northerners disregarded the states' rights and were out to end slavery which was equivalent to destroying the economy of the South, which would possibly deny them political independence.

Election of Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln was anti-slavery but did not come out as an abolitionist. Prior to his election, Lincoln believed that slavery was morally wrong and economically unviable. He believed that free labor was even more productive than slave labor. Although Lincoln did not explicitly reject slavery, he subscribed to the Republican Party ideologies which were anti-slavery. The Southerners were well aware that the Republican was against their slave trade. As Lincoln won the 1860 election, they were much convinced that they were losing the long battles with the North over the institution of slavery, their aspiration to govern themselves and they feared that their economy would be destroyed. They felt that the only way to survive and still protect their plantations that thrived on slave labor was to secede. Following his inauguration, 11 states seceded to form the Confederate States of America. Lincoln viewed the secession as an illegal act, and he refused to accept any resolution that would allow the states secede legally. This was the culmination of the long tension into a civil war that erupted a few months later after Republicans victory.

Conclusion

Although various reasons (states' rights, the role of the federal government and constitution, economy, the election of Abraham Lincoln) can be attributed to the causes of civil war, all those factors circumnavigate around the real cause of the conflict which was the institution of slavery. The North and the South disagreed over the issue of slavery, with the South seeing it as the backbone of their economy whereas the North viewed it as an unnecessary practice that ought to be uprooted altogether. The Southerners were always on the defensive side criticizing the attempts by the federal government to undermine their rights to hold slaves and always trying to manipulate the law such that it protects their endangered and "out of time" institution of slavery. The issues and debate over the states' rights, the role of the federal government and amendment of the constitution served as aggravating factors that served to heighten the tension between the North and the South over the need to uproot slavery according to the Northerners and the aspiration to protect and expand it by the South. Eventually, the election of Lincoln as the president of the Union exploded the tension as the Southern states sought to secede while Lincoln refused their move leading to physical engagement in battlefields.

Bibliography

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