by James Kellard

Created on: June 11, 2009

To say that the Civil War was fought over slavery alone is to take a simplistic view of history. It is generally accepted that Abraham Lincoln was one of the greatest presidents we have ever had. Many use the Emancipation Proclamation and President Lincoln's freeing of the slaves as the primary example of this (while the Emancipation Proclamation and the thirteenth amendment to the Constitution were great achievements, they are only two examples out of many that attest to the greatness of Lincoln, many of which have nothing to do with slavery). The fact is that President Lincoln never set out to abolish slavery. He never hid his distain for slavery, but it was not until near the end of the Civil War that he even considered abolishment as a viable option. While Lincoln's morals undoubtedly played a role in his decision to abolish slavery (often he pondered over the legitimacy of arguments for continuing slavery, he also felt he could not send African American soldiers back to slavery after they had fought for their country), the greater reasoning was tactical. Abolishing slavery would potentially weaken the south and therefore turn the tides of the war in favor of the north. By the end of the war, the argument over slavery was greatly diluted. The south had even had African American soldiers fighting for them.

The rise of arms from the south against the north began before the Lincoln presidency. In the early to mid 1800's with the addition of several states to the Union, the issue of slavery was a constant one. States such as Maine (entering the Union in 1820) and Michigan (1837) entered the Union as free states, while Alabama (1819) and Missouri (1821) entered the Union as slave states. The south relied on their control of the federal government to protect their way of life which, primarily for economic reasons, included slavery. The divide between the north and south continued to grow as the north became more urban with a growing population and influx on European immigrants while the south remained a primarily farming area without the booming population of the north. During the first half of the 19th century, the south could feel somewhat safe in their way of life with most presidents being southerners themselves and ample representation in the Congress. Abraham Lincoln won the presidency by winning the north, accomplishing what the south had been fearing for some time, a government controlled by the north. Feeling that their way of life was at risk and having

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