What steps should an American leader undertake to avoid Civil War of Essay

What steps should an American leader undertake to avoid Civil War of 1860 - Essay Example The backdrop or case in history that would be a noted example would be the American Civil War during the late nineteenth century. To start off, this paper would try to look into the causes of the American Civil War and see which among the factors was the most pressing or critical for the war to start with. From that point, this paper will then explain what would be the personal suggestions or actions that could have been taken to prevent any further escalation of hostilities between both opposing sides during the civil war. If I Were the United States President During the 1860’s, How Would I Prevent the Civil War? It is difficult to be the head of state when dealing with the likelihood of civil war. Such instances would mean either two things for a president. One option is to immediately choose a side among the belligerents, which could mean either the losing or winning side. The other option is to try to remain neutral while encouraging much political maneuver or diplomatic a pproach as the only way to engage the problem. The head of state usually makes these decisions based on political alignment, economic advantage, or the moral high ground. Perhaps an ideal scenario that would make a great example would be the American Civil War. ... Defenders of slavery from the Southern Confederacy held that slaves are needed to run their economy since most of their economy runs on agricultural growth and development, especially with cotton crops. At the same time, slaves were views by southerners as property and were held as to have private protected ownership by right of the owner. In the case of the northern side, their economy is largely based on industrial progress and trading of equipment and materials. This gave the northern side the advantage over the south in terms of economy and, eventually, military power. The use of slaves for the north was not really needed for their economy to run. Although Leidner (2011) held the opinion that: Although slavery was  the  moral issue of the nineteenth century that divided the political leaders of the land, the average American had very little interest in slaves or slavery. Most Southerners were small farmers that could not afford slaves. Most Northerners were small farmers or t radesmen that had never even  seen  a slave. The problem then is not solely on the economic issues of slavery, but it is found on the politics that revolved around slavery. Handlin (1864) further observed that: The institution of slavery has, doubtless, been a true cause of secession and rebellion, although there have been many who disputed the proposition, and alleged that the tariff and other questions were more powerful agents in causing the South to throw off her allegiance and seek protection from the injustice of the North in a separate and independent government. (pp.41-42) It should also be noted that the seat of the Federal government and power is located at the northern side, and most