the constitution and the civil war
Any combination of words is open to interpretation, especially an intentionally vague document like the Constitution. By being open to radically different interpretations, the Constitution became a weapon for sectional discord and tension in the years preceding the Civil War. When it was framed the Constitution was deliberately ambiguous on the subject of slavery, even though men like Thomas Jefferson were for outlawing the institution and others, southerners for the most part, were all for codifying it. Instead, their expedient compromise to ignore the issue proved to be a curse to posterity since the hesitancy and confusion of the nation on the slavery issue was thus embedded in the cornerstone of its government. Because the Constitution speaks of property and state's rights as well as the equality of men without any specific clarification of the relationship of these principles to slavery, it was used to support both sides of the debate. Because of this ambiguity on the matters of states' rights, of property rights and of the very definition of 'all men' it buckled when confronted with the question of slavery, and the nation buckled with it. The identity of a state in relation to the nat
Anothe contradiction within the Constitution that contributed to the conflict was its definition of property rights and human rights. Now, if one views slaves as property like 'An Anonymous Georgian' in Document B did, then there should be no question as to whether or not they could cross state lines or be owned. The Georgian, possessed of this mindset, reviled the northern policy that said "they [southerners] shall not carry their property into their own land." However, if one views slaves as men then they should not be owned at all. This mindset, also justified by the Constitution ("All men are created equal"), made evasion of the Fugitive Slave Law, like through the posted warning to blacks in Document C, seem right. Abolitionists and blacks certainly did not view the slave catchers as mere property collectors. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "An immoral law makes it a man's duty to break it, at every hazard." William Lloyd Garrison eloquently described the Constitution that maintained a moral tone while still permitting the corrupt institution of slavery and the laws that support it, saying, "The words 'slaves' and 'slavery' are not to be found in the Constitution, and therefore, to the argument that it was never intended to give any protection or countenance to the slave system, it is sufficent to reply, that though no such words are contained in the instrument, other words were used, intelligently and specifically, to meet the needs of slavery." It seems that if abolitionists like Garrison were
Some common words found in the essay are:
President Buchanan's, Thomas Jefferson, Constitution United, Lloyd Garrison, Articles Confederation, Civil War, Georgian' Document, Abraham Lincoln, Jefferson Davis, James Buchanan, national government, civil war, property rights, national policy, views slaves, slavery issue,
Approximate Word count = 1017
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
