The Struggle Of The Civil War - 1492 Words

Many Texans contend that the Civil War was not fought over slavery, citing the limited number of slave-owning households in the state. While the majority of Texans did not own slaves, it would be inaccurate to argue that they were therefore against slavery. Texas, representative of other southern states that supported slavery, had a vested interest in preserving the institution at all costs, which is why they risked their lives over it. Moreover, Texans may argue that the civil war was about states’ rights or defense of the southern â€Å"way of life.† States’ rights, though part of the equation, played a diminished role as a whole in prompting the Civil War. Furthermore, because it revolved mostly around slavery, the southern â€Å"way of life†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦show more content†¦Slaves were especially needed for cotton, which was proven to be a major crop of Texas. Although only 1/3 of Antebellum Texas had slaves, they produced over 90% of the cotton grown in Texas, which allowed for most slave-owners to actually receive a profit, as opposed to putting their money towards a loan in the northeast to produce the crop (Campbell 207). As a result it is clear that slavery became a necessity for the Texas economy. Slavery was also the main cause of the Civil War because of the political ramifications associated with it. The argument Texans had about the Civil War and states’ rights can be defended in that the U.S. Constitution failed to specifically address slavery. Although many of our Founding Fathers hated slavery and spoke negatively about it, several owned slaves and relied on them. The states’ rights argument was essentially used to control votes in congress. The states’ rights argument was used to create the fear of setting an unfavorable precedent by allowing more states to enter the union without slaves, which could mean loss of votes for the South in the U.S. Congress. If the north expanded into the west and they were able to get more states to enter the Union, then the Confederacy would lose the votes in the US congress. Congress could then vote to abolish slavery throughout the Union. The concept of states’ rights is a political and economical issue for the South. If the South loses their rights to slavery then the