The American Civil War Essay Example for Free

The American Civil War Essay The impact that religion had on reforms from the 1820s to the 1850s can clearly be seen in the effect that it had in contributing to the American Civil War. Religion played a key role in the different positions that the North and the South were going to take with regard to the issue of slavery. The Presbyterian, Baptist and Methodist teachings espoused themes of both unity and separation. This was echoed well during the activities in 1837, 1844 and 1845, respectively, when the bond of national unity was broken. Instead of unifying a country, most of the religious influences during this time caused the alienation of most sectors by projecting distorted images. In turn, this led to the establishment of independent sects in a once united country. This rift and sectional independence was sustained by the growing moral outrage that each side felt for each other. The overemphasis of the church, during this period, on individualism failed to provide the leadership necessary to steer the nation through many issues, none more pivotal than that of slavery. An example of this would be the reforms instituted by the Republican Party. These reforms were rooted on a form of Calvinism that was deeply moderated. The southern evangelicals on the other hand, attempted to resist the influence of religion into politics by supporting the confederacy. The opposite reforms that each side was about to take from the 1820s to the 1850s was caused by the inability of religion to collectively and squarely address the issue of slavery. For the north, it was reforms that were rooted on social action while the South focused their reforms on personal piety. While both sides championed the Bible in their quest to resolve the issue on slavery, they each took opposing opinions which eventually took them down the path of one of the most radical reforms in American history.