In class, we’ve brought up the questions of why non-slaveholders in the South would fight for slavery and why Northern soldiers would fight for emancipation even if they had no particular desire for abolition or racial equality. Chandra Manning’s book What This Cruel War Was Over provides ample evidence and arguments about these exact questions.
Manning argues that Southerners fought to defend slavery, even if they did not own slaves, because the institution was so deeply ingrained in Southern society that any threat to it was seen as an attack on everything Southerners valued and held dear like family and social order. According to Manning, the Southern understanding of liberty was the ability to pursue material prosperity and provide for their families (p. 29). Unlike the North, Southerners were focused on liberty as it applied to their individual families. With slavery, all Southern whites had the chance to own slaves. Even though in practice, it was difficult for poor whites to reach the point where they could buy slaves, the possibility reinforced the idea of white equality and liberty in the South (pg. 33). A threat to slavery was seen as a threat to the ability of Southern whites to achieve economic prosperity for their families. In addition to the economic repercussions that Southerners feared abolition would cause, they feared the effect it would have on the family unit. According the Manning, Southern men had a strict view of familial roles. With slavery, white man had the right and duty to command their household, which included women, children and blacks. Even if they didn’t actually own slaves, white Southern men had the right to “rule” blacks because they were viewed as inferior to any white man of any economic standing (p. 36). Stripping white men of the ability to exercise their authority over blacks was seen as a threat to their manhood and their position as head of a family (p. 37). Basically, Southerners, even if they didn’t own slaves, saw slavery as essential to their way of life, their liberty, and their ability to head a family, so they were willing to fight for it.
Unlike Southerners, Manning argues that Northerners viewed liberty as a more universal ideal that applied to everyone rather than just their individual families (p.40). The Southern rebellion was viewed as a threat to these ideals because Northerners considered the Union to represent those ideals. This view, according to Manning, stemmed from the Second Great Awakening and the idea that the United States had a “special mandate to bring about God’s kingdom on earth (p.41).” Even if Northerners didn’t support emancipation, many were offended by the idea that that the South would turn against the Union and the ideals of self-government and liberty that it represented for the single issue of slavery. Northerners did not view the issue of slavery as paramount to liberty and way of life as Southerners did. They viewed the continued existence of a single, united Union as the most important issue at stake. Therefore, even though Northerners’ views on slavery varied widely, they were willing to fight for the preservation of the country. Also, as the war continued, many union soldiers came to the conclusion that eliminating slavery was the only way to end the war, no matter what their personal views on slavery had been (p. 49).