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| Lincoln and the Republicans: The Cause of the War? |
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Author: John Soos, Sudbrook Middle Magnet, Baltimore County Public Schools
Grade Level: Middle
Duration: 1 Period |
Overview:
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This lesson explains the origins of the Republican Party in the 1850s as a conglomeration of several factions, which held a common belief in the importance of "free labor." Drawn from elements in the Free Soil, Liberty, and even Democratic Parties, the new Republicans idealized the industrial worker who sold his own labor and, through thrift and hard work, achieved independence and social position. Students will learn that a national crisis emerged when both the Northern Republicans and Southern Democrats realized that free labor and slavery could not co-exist, especially in the new western territories won from Mexico in 1848. Republicans strove to recognize the dignity of labor by separating it from slavery; Southern Democrats, on the other hand, did not wish to be part of a nation that enriched northern industrialists while impoverishing southern farmers with tariffs. By 1860, all the elements for southern secession were in place, and the election of a Republican President ensured it. By the end of the lesson, students will also discover that, while the Civil War was certainly provoked by pro- and anti-slavery factions, few if any of the leading actors believed in racial equality. |
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