Mark Ochweri

Distinguished Scholars Application

Document One
1. The two parties seem to disagree on the power and
authority given to any person over any other person.
2. The tone in the statements suggested that neither side
was willing to compromise to two parties seemed to
hold their values.

Document Two
1. Albert Gallatin Brown sponsored secession because he
believed and fear that the North was going to use its
new found power to free the slaves; he also believed
that secession was better than emancipation .

2. If this was the belief of people in the South then it

would be safe to state that the Southern farmers
believed that the Northerners were being oppressors
who would use their power to make decisions in their
own best interest instead of the best interest of the
Southern farmers.

Document Three
1. I completely disagree with that notion the problem of
disunion was evident since the Declaration of
Independence when the issue of slavery was not
addressed.

Document Four
1. Most of Lincolns votes came from the North and
American West usually states which were free. A
strange thing is these states are now traditionally
Democratic.
2. The southerners believed that if a Northerner gained
power they would use that power to ban slavery which
in turn would diminish the Southern Economy.
 Document Five
1. The lack of consideration for others, corruption, and
sordidness of the North were some of the reasons that
were some of the reasons but the election of Lincoln
didnt help the situation.

Document Six
1. The North has united and has elected a president who
wants to eradicate slavery. They believe this is
unacceptable that The Government cannot continue
being half slave and half free.

Document Seven
1. Jefferson Davis was trying to state that many legislative
decisions were went against the views of the
Southerners and the election of Lincoln was the cherry
on top of the cake of Northern oppression.

Essay

Secession is a problem that can destroy a nation it is a

problem that threatened the well being of America and it
inhabitants. Even though secession was horrible it was
inevitable after the Declaration of Independence and
Constitution failed to address the issue of slavery and later
in the history of The United States the issue of slavery would
become both political and economical.
The problem started when the issue of slavery wasnt
addressed during the drafting of The Declaration of
Independence and Constitution. The nation was divided
between freedom and slavery but Lincoln said, A nation
divided cannot stand. Thus this problem was to be
anticipated. The conflict was foreseen during multiple
occasions, for example when the state of California was
enstated into The Union there was a great conflict in
congress on whether a free state should be declared part of
the country. This was a problem because the nation had a
balance between the Free states and the Slave states and if
California entered The Union the balance would be tipped
giving the Free states an advantage. The Industrial
Revolution in Europe, especially Britain added to the
problems mainly because the advent of the cotton gin and
other industrial, more efficient, ways of weaving and
spinning added to the demand of cotton in the United
States. The high demand of cotton made slavery more
enrooted in the Southern economy. Uneven distribution of
resources also contributed to some of the tension, some of
these include more railroad lines in the North.
All the issues leading to the civil war were political and
economical. These issues may be called the largest
procrastination of the United States government, we hid
them and they came back to bite us. Southern farmers did
not fight for their morals but for their pocketbooks. If they
for the American morals, of freedom, equality and
opportunity then they would have been on the other side of
the battlefield but the northerners didnt fight for their
values either for when the African Americans moved to the
North they started complaining meaning they didnt what
that but had some other gain from the war. Just the division
between North and South; free or slave may have caused a
sense of regional pride which may have driven a wedge
between the two regions. The sense of unity as a country
diminished and politics took over daily life. When people
refuse to hear the truth they accept any absurdity that seeks
to replace it, The people of The South led themselves to
believe that the Northerners were plotting against them but
the leaders were trying to do what is best for the country as
a whole. Those ideas were not what the solutions which
Southerners wanted to hear so they fought back.
One overlooked cause of secession may have been the
misunderstanding of the power federal and state
government held as shown in The Constitution. Some states,
i.e. South Carolina, believed that the federal government
was trying to acquire too much power. They also believed
that the mandate to either keep or ban slavery should come
from the individual states and not the federal government.
South Carolina and other states believed in the articles of
confederation which states, "Each state retains its
sovereignty, freedom, and independence, and every power,
jurisdiction, and right, which is not by this Confederation
expressly delegated." The political aspect extended farther
than slavery, it went all the way back to the time of
federalists. It even extended as far as the Articles of
Confederation, the United States Constitution and the
Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. The
failure to understand which document corresponded to the
governance of the country was the big problem maybe even
the disregarded problem. When our founding fathers wrote
the Declaration of Independence, some delegates argued
that slaves should not be included in the Declaration. I ask
the delegates who opposed African Americans to the list of
people whom are declaring independence from a tyrannical
establishment, Isnt your notion ironic. It is sad to know
that the land of the free would not allow freedom ring. I am
glad and proud for the bravery of the soldiers who fought to
save their country and values.
The American civil war and secession of eleven states
might have been resolved long before it became a cancer in
the American, government, system, economy, and people. If
the issue had been resolved by the founding fathers, long
before the increase of cotton demand, then slavery would
have been more of a moral subject and less of an economic
issue and negotiations might have been better and easier to
conduct.

Prior experiences
I think the experience in which I learned the most is my
election to student body presidency. I learned that
leadership goes way beyond what is seen or heard I was
often criticized for things I did not do and never got credit
for my accomplishments. I learned that helping others and
making their aspirations come true is a reward in itself.

Reasons for joining Distinguished Scholars

 At a moment in anyones life they learn that life is
unfair. When you learn this lesson you realize that you have
to come forth and make opportunities so that you may make
a difference in the future. After rigorous research and study I
have come to the conclusion that this is in my best interest. I
have come to learn that your program utilizes the
seriousness of the people in the top ten percentile to bring
forth an environment for learning. I think this is a great
concept; this helps all those who care for the future and are
more concerned about their future. I hope you may give me
the opportunity to prove to you that I truly could be a
distinguished scholar.