How did Americans feel about the Civil War before the fighting began?

 Before the fighting of the American Civil War began in 1861, the feelings and opinions among Americans were mixed and deeply divided along regional and political lines. Broadly speaking, many in the Southern states felt that the Civil War, or the threat of secession leading up to it, was necessary to protect their way of life, which included the institution of slavery. They believed in the doctrine of states’ rights, which advocated for a state’s sovereignty and the right to govern without federal interference, particularly in decisions about whether to allow slavery.

In the North, views were also divided, but there was a stronger inclination toward preserving the Union. While not all Northerners were against slavery, there was a growing abolitionist movement, and many felt that slavery was morally wrong and should not be extended into the new western territories that were being added to the country.

Some Americans were ambivalent or hoped for a peaceful resolution. There were many attempts at compromise, such as the Missouri Compromise (1820) and the Compromise of 1850, hoping to prevent an outright conflict by addressing the concerns of both sides.

However, with the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860, who was seen by the South as hostile to slavery, Southern states began to secede from the Union, leading to the establishment of the Confederate States of America. For the Confederacy, the war was about self-determination and maintaining their social and economic systems. For the Union, the war became one of preserving the nation and later, as Lincoln emphasized in the Emancipation Proclamation, about ending slavery.

The feelings at the dawn of the Civil War were complex and charged with emotions, as years of tension over slavery, states’ rights, economic differences, and political power exploded into the deadliest war in American history.