America Essay

It has been taught in American schools that the war fought in order to stop slavery and that the American South did the right thing by seceding from the Union because of its support in slavery. Subsequently, the Civil war was a result of the Founding Fathers’ failure to address the institution of slavery in a republic that proclaimed in its Declaration of Independence that all men are created equal. Nonetheless, the necessity of the war has been questioned because the four-war to abolish slavery ravaged the country and destroyed nearly half of the American people. Among the countries that practiced slavery, only America and Haiti freed their slaves by war. The rest were freed peacefully. Hence, it can be concluded that the South could have gained its independence without the war. The rising alone of keeping and posting guards on the constantly escaping slaves would have resulted in the gradual decline for the demand of slaves. The absence of a fugitive slave laws in other states that would force the return of the slaves to their owners has added to the decreasing value of the slaves. As such the institution would have been unsustainable regardless of the moral and humanitarian perspectives. On the other hand, the American North would still have achieved its goals without resorting to war. Apparently, the North slaughtered a large number of American young men in the battles against the South. Nonetheless, it is evident that the South posed no military threat to the North. Its aim of preserving the Union was considered as not a compelling reason to continue the war. The North wanted to keep the Union intact solely on the basis of economy and fiscal matter. Since the principal source of tax revenue for the federal government before the Civil war was a tariff on imports, they needed to keep these tariffs in which the federal government accounted its federal budget. The North did not need to take the bait by Lincoln who dispatched southerners to forestall the supplies for Fort Sumter. Hence, its attack on the South could have been prevented had not depended on the Union being intact and the economic advantages it provided them.