blundering generation of politicians Flashcards
(5 cards)
topic sentence
Some historians such as James Randall argue that a blundering generation of politician led to the secession of several Southern states in late 1860
evidence 1 - lincoln-douglas debate
During the 20th century many politicians, such as Abraham Lincoln made decisions that heightened sectional tensions. Firstly, Lincolns debates with Democrat, Stephen A Douglas in 1858 over who would become Senator in Illinois heightened tension. Douglas, a Democrat made it clear that he believed black people to be inferior to whites in the debate, while Lincoln although still not believing that black and white people were equal, made it clear that he was against the institution of slavery and the expansion of it. Despite, Douglas winning the overall debate, it gave Lincoln and the Republicans a platform to galvanize Northern support due to their anti-slavery stance, and this angered Southerners. Indeed, following the debate, Lincoln went on to win the 1860 Presidential election which caused the secession of Southern states as they were worried about the future of slavery if Lincoln was in power.
evidence 2 - fort sumter
Furthermore, Lincolns handling of Fort Sumter led to the secession. Many Southern states such as South Carolina had already succeeded by this point, however more, such as Virginia were on the verge of seceding. Fort Sumter was a Federal Fort in Confederate Sea, which was a symbol of national sovereignty to both nations he Union wanted to stay in control of it, whereas the Confederacy wanted to overtake it. In April 1861, the fort began to run out of supplies, so Lincoln decided to resupply it. This led to secession because Lincoln placed practically manouvered the Confederacy into firing the first shots of the American Civil War and, indeed, Confederate troops to open fire on the Union on 12th April 1861. This resulted in several other sates seceeding because of a mixture of wanting to protect their slave-based economy and a sense of strong Southern white identity.
counter analysis
However, Lincoln made it clear that his “Paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and it is not either to save or destroy slavery”, making him more appealing to the Southern states as it suggests that he would not interfere with slavery where it already existed.
evaluation
To evaluate, a blundering generation of politicians is a significant reason for the secession of several Southern states in 1860 as Southern revisionists such as James Randall argue, the “BLUNDERING GENERATION” of the 1850s had irresponsibly allowed the nation to slip into war and had positively encouraged the conflict for personal gains.
