Who was right in the Cival War?

Question

I know the basics of the Cival War but I am not positive who was in the right. Was it the North or the South? Please explain in your answer. Tell why one side was right in some topics but wrong in others. I want to know why one side was better than the other. Which side do you chose?

Thanks.

Answer 1

War is seldom 'right.'

The North was right about the slavery issue but slavery wasn't the only issue between the two sides. Many of them were other economic issues besides slavery. Some believe that the South wasn't getting a fair shake at the economic pie.

If not for territory, then most wars are fought over money of some kind. The freedom of slaves wasn't as big an issue to the average northerner as people might expect you to believe. Abe Lincoln was progressive for his time (though he wasn't as anti-slavery as you might think), not necessarily the average northerner.

Also, many of the issues also had to do with states rights as the above poster mentioned. that issue will always be a hot one even today.

Answer 2

I think the North was in the right mainly because the northern states were fighting to preserve the union. Most people think the Civil War was about slavery ( the south wanting to keep slaves...the north wanting to free them ) This really wasnt the case at all. If one reads speeches made by Abraham Lincoln during these times...it becomes clear that ending slavery was not the issue. In one speech old Abe specifically said that if he could have saved the union without freeing any slaves, he would have. If you read the Emancipation Proclamation, you see that slaves were only freed in states who had seceeded from the union. Slave holding states on the union side were not effected. The real issue was weither or not individual states could up and " walk away " because the didnt like federal laws. The north said NO...because if any state could leave the union at the drop of the hat...then we really had no unified country to speak of. The southern states....while understanding that slavery was a dying practice....didnt believe that the Federal Government had the right to dictate state law. The states who seperated did so because of a belief that the Federal Government should only make laws that reflected the desires of the people....not dictate how individual states operated. Slavery was used to punish the southern states...which only served to enrage them....making it all but impossible to find a peacable end ( in this I think the North was wrong ) The southerners saw the collapse of their entire economy too high a price to pay and would have prefered a gradual , generational approach to freedom. However, this possibility did not exist because of the norths " Do it now....because I say so" approach. Perhaps there could have been a peaceful resolution if there had been more asking and less demanding.

Answer 3

the South really wanted to secede due to the taxes they had to pay that were mainly put in place for the North's industry and the southerners were poorer because of their farming. The North simply wanted to maintain the union. Thus the north were actually the one's that were on the offensive side and the South was on the defensive. The south had a much bigger advantage with their general Robert E. Lee, and they also knew their land better. However the North, being more industrious had better weapons. A main factor that did not cause the war was slavery. The south depended on it. Thus after Lincoln and the North thought they won a major battle at Antietam (even though it was a stalemate) he issued the Emancipation Proclamation. So as far as who is right, the North was good because they wanted to maintain the Union and eventually ban slavery, the South was right in that they shouldn't have had to pay such horrible taxes that the was put in place because of the Norths prosperous industry.

Answer 4

The South was wrong and was rebelling against the lawfully elected government of the United States. They had an established constitution and elected representatives. Banning slavery was well within the power of this establishment and not at all in conflict with it. However, if I was to make the decision today knowing what we now know I would let them run off and watch the Southern states turn into a third world county while the North progressed. With slavery the South had no need to advance technology and would have been left behind. In the end they would have banned slavery themselves due to attrition and rejoined the North without a fight. Kind of like what happen to the old USSR.

Answer 5

I would say that 95% of the US populace doesn't know enough about the Civil War/War Between the States to offer an opinion. If you really want to know, do some research with primary sources.

In my opinion, it was wrong of the South to try what they did because they didn't have the capability to pursue by force the course they chose and it condemned hundreds of thousands to miserable death for the benefit of the wealthy.

I believe they had and have the right to secede. I believe that slavery is wrong. Only a very small percentage of Southerners actually owned or benefited from slaves, and most of those were exempted from service.

The South appropriated Federal property and reneged on debts to Northern banks and merchants. Northerners and Southerners (privately and militarily) colluded throughout the war in continuing a trade in cotton for profit.

The bloody impact of war on both sides fell mainly on the shoulders of the poor and lower middle class.

Answer 6

Try reading your homework and formulating your own answer

By the way it was not the Cival War. It was the Civil War. You
might start with that.

By the way the war was not about slavery. It was about Federal control. Lincoln didn't give a damn about the slaves. He cared about keeping the Union under Federal control. Much like the current war on terrorism which has nothing to do with oil and setting up bases in the middle east.

Answer 7

I seriously think you should do your own homework. Most foreign children embrace enlightenment whereas the youth of America dither amongst each other about shoes, jewelry, and cell phones. Sad...

In short, the North was right. The basis of the southern argument was its opposition to the abolition to slavery, something which the North had done relatively earlier. As well, slavery had become an institution in the south and the staple commodity in its economy. They felt as if elitist 'yankees' from north were attacking their way of life and their right to subjugate, own, and enslave the black people. Eventually, the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation galvanized very anti-northern sentiments causing the South to elect Jefferson Davis as their president and succeed from the union. Right or not, the South brokered the autonomy of individual states from the federal government.

This war was instrumental in setting precedents in regards to the scope of presidential power. Lincoln was right to do everything within his power to stymie the succession of the south in order to preserve the union, even suspending parts of the constitution to do so; something that will and must happen again in the future whether Americans like it or not. Its their fault.

Answer 8

I believe in the equality of human beings, and the unity of the United States of America, so it would be a sure bet I think the north, Union, forces fought for the right reasons. The issues of slavery, economy and state's rights fueled controversy. Had our founding fathers ironed out the slavery issue when the Constitution was written the Civil War would never have occurred. I won't do your essay for you, but think about the issues of southern states wanting to determine the laws about what goes on in their homes versus the US government in Washington laying down the law (that's included in the state's rights issue). Also think about the southern economy which was based on slave labor (agricultural economy) and the northern economy based on industrial production for pay (albeit small pay). Go to Google and type in "reasons for Civil War" and see what you get to help you. Good luck.

I've included a link to a well-written student essay which may help.

Answer 9

The North just wanted cheap labor for their factories. They didn't care about freeing anyone. The agrarian economy would not have lasted and industry would have made it's way to the forefront of Southern capital investment. Slavery would have been abolished in the South anyway since it would have no longer been viable.

Answer 10

I believe the South was right. Not about slavery, about states rights. The federal government was overstepping its authority with many laws and regulations. Slavery was a side issue, it is a little known fact that Abe had a constitutional amendment ready to legalize slavery if the south wouldn't secede.