“A house divided against itself cannot stand,” Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln wrote that in his speech when the Union was falling apart. It was falling apart because the South had slavery where the North didn’t. The South kept threatening to leave the Union until one day, they finally did. There are three main reasons why the South gave for Session from the Union. The reasons are from slavery, the Fugitive Slave Law, and from the “Last Straw” which was the Election of 1860.

One of the main reasons that the South gave for Session from the Union was from slavery. Southerner’s life depended on slavery because without it, their economy would fall apart. On the other hand, the Northerners disliked it. They thought that it was cruel to treat people like animals! The North wanted to end slavery, however the South didn’t. Controversy between the two exploded! African Americans tried running away, fights broke out, and riots began! The Union couldn’t stay half slave or half free, it needed to be all one or all the other. …show more content…
It was the Fugitive Slave Law. Henry Clay developed a compromise mainly for the South. The law made it easier for slaveholders to locate and reclaim their runaway slaves. Even though this law was supposed to quiet down slavery controversy, it actually did the opposite. The North didn’t want to enforce the law because they hated slavery. In addition, the South didn’t like the law either. They believed it didn’t do enough to make sure that they got their escaped property back! Barely any runaway slaves were captured and returned to their owners while this law was enforced! On page 292 from the History Alive textbook, it says,” Of the tens of thousands of fugitives living in the North during the 1850s, only 299 were captured and returned to their