Slavery in America: The Beginning of the Civil War Essay -- Slave Slav

slavery in the States The Beginning of the Civil War Should humans be autonomous or responsible? In other words, should they follow the convictions of their avow hearts or surrender their ideals to another power presumed to be topping in its wisdom? This dilemma between autonomy and responsibility presents itself constantly. The struggles oer abortion, euthanasia, and drug legalization ar perfect examples. In each of these cases, individuals are either pushing for stronger individual rights (the freedom to make decisions regarding their own lives) or a stronger stance on the behalf of their goernment (to legally prevent individuals from fashioning bad decisions). When feeling at the civil state of war in America the dilemma over autonomy vs. responsibility is an interesting one. Its uniqueness is highlighted when looking at the question to whom are they responsible. In 1776, the United States declares their freedom from smashing Britain. Rather than remaining responsi ble to the British government, who was suddenly attempting to control them, representatives from the bakers dozen colonies of America sign the Declaration of Independence. While laying out the role model for this independence, numerous debates arise over the question of slavery. Despite opposing viewpoints over this issue, the Declaration of Independence is signed with slavery remaining intact. By go forth the issue of slavery unresolved in the Declaration of Independence, Americas future would rest upon an institution with an unsteady foundation. This quandary ultimately sets the set for a number of inevitable conflicts culminating in South Carolinas coitus interruptus from the Union and a great civil war. Was a civil war inevitable over slavery in America? No. A w... ...nneth C., Dont Know Much About the Civil War, newfangled York William Morrow and Company, Inc., 1996. Pg. 31.iii Davis, Kenneth C., pg. 29.iv Keifer, Joseph Warren, thraldom and quartette Years of War, New York The Knickerbocker Press, 1969. Pg. 37.v Leland, Charles Godfrey, Abraham Lincoln and the Abolition of Slavery in the United States, New York G.P. Putnams Sons, 1879. Pg. 49.vi Davis, Kenneth C., pg. 25.vii Davis, Kenneth C., pg. 14.viii Davis, Kenneth C., pg. 27.ix Jackson, Andrew, in Slavery and Four Years of War, pg. 54.x Davis, Kenneth C., pg. 119.xi Davis, Kenneth C., pg. 152.xii Leland, Charles Godfrey, pg. 110.xiii Davis, Kenneth C., pg. 176.xiv Africans in America, The New York Tribune, at http//www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/narrative.html.