Could the Civil War Have Been Avoided?

The Civil War was an unavoidable event that altered the course of history. The origins of the war are found in the issue of slavery and the moral and political questions this issue raised. The North and South, which both constituted the Union, were as different from one another as two separately functioning societies, one free and one slave. Their irreconcilable differences made it impossible for them to agree, or give in to one another. Convinced their way of life was the right way, the problems between two regions that were supposed to be united were not going to be solved unless by bloodshed. With the publication of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, the Harpers Ferry Incident, and a series of political issues, the chasm between North and South grew even deeper, making war impossible to avoid.

In 1852, Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin was published. Described by Lincoln as “the book that made this great war,” Uncle Tom’s Cabin had an enormous impact on both North and South. Uncle Tom’s Cabin was a sentimental, anti-slavery novel and an attempt to portray the brutality of slavery. The novel greatly angered the South, especially when th