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Cause And Effect Of The Civil War

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Analysis of the causes and effects of the American Civil War The American Civil war is often remembered as the turning point in US history, especially in regards to topic of slavery. However many people fail to consider the decisions, choices and events that led to the second deadliest war in American history. Often times when analysing the Civil War, historians consider the combination of numerous controversial issues as the cause of the war. Although I agree with the claim that a combination of issues was a key reason as to why the war began, I firmly believe that it can be narrowed down to three specific matters of contentions: the ongoing battle between industrialization and agriculture, state’s rights, and most importantly slavery. The …show more content…

The South relied heavily on the slavery as it made increased agricultural productivity at an “affordable” price. Furthermore the South dependent on cash crop from plantations where slaves were very much needed. Since the North relied more on manufacturing had much less slaves and considered the idea of having a slave unethical and unconstitutional. The South would often weave tales of how “negro slaves are the happiest” and in some senses “the freest people in the world” (Document H). Though this claim would often be disputed with numerous instances where the freedom, liberty and health of slaves would be compromised, the south continued with this narrative. The opposition for slaves increased further with the release of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” which illustrated the poor conditions in which slaves live in through a fictional universe. However many details of the book could very easily be applied to the American south. Slavery and its effects were recorded by abolitionists and literary critiques of the North, most famous of which was Frederick Douglass (Document G). The issue however was the failure of both the North and South in seeing the point-of-view of the other. This lack of understanding of the opposition's view caused more enmity between the two

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