There has been several debates on the causes of the American Civil War. Many have stated that slavery was the primary cause for the Civil War. Some historians have argued that there were other causes of the Civil War. The one thing that all historians agreed upon was the division between the North (known as the Union) and the South (known as the Confederacy) that escalated on the soil of the United States of America (In Stampp, 1965). The battle between the two states is what created the “American Civil War.” The American Civil War started as a result of many years of differences and debates between the Union and the Confederacy. The Southern states, which included the eleven (11) states that were formed by the Confederacy, …show more content…
Some plantation owners were also slave owners and those who could not afford to own slaves, had to maintain their farmlands on their own. The Northerners, or what was called the free states, had more immigrants settling in its areas, where labor was needed, but not the labor of slaves. There was a more industrialized society where most people worked in factories and did not follow a class system. The Northers opposed to slavery as an institution in the South, whereas the Confederate States were the only region in the world who still legalized the ownership of slaves. When this happened, it angered the Southerners and threatened their way of life. The U.S. Presidential election of Abraham Lincoln opposed a threat to slavery in the South.
Furthermore, the economic differences were developed between the two regions. The Southern states were agricultural states and depended on agriculture rather than industrialization (Egnal, 2009). After the invention of the cotton, this increased the need for slaves and made cotton the chief crop for the South. The South was able to produce about 90% of the world 's supply of cotton. This increase of the cotton was the cause for the South 's dependence on the plantation system and its vital component, slavery. As a result, the North was prospering industrially. The fear was that the South 's slave-based economy might affect their economy. The North was highly dependent
The South invented the cotton gin which produced cotton a lot faster. One cotton gin equalled the same as seven slaves. According to source 6 “ This tool had completely changed the face of the south's agriculture and wealth. The south provide two thirds of the world cotton. Making the south very rich but also increasing slave numbers and the number of cotton farms.” Meanwhile, the north did not have suitable rock soil for establishing farmers. The north's economy came to be known for its trading and its factories. Source 9 states “ Industries and factories centered in the north. Many factories using mass production methods had sprung up there, and cities grew rapidly.” The North then started to build intricate railroad systems and shipping industries to transport the manufactured goods. As you can see the north and the south had huge technology differences which also caused a lot of tension between the states as
The economy in the South was based on plantations, mostly bales of cotton that were managed by slaves (Doc. B). Their economy was so great that, in 1857, out of the $279,000,000 the U.S. produced of domestic products, the South produced $158,000,000 out of articles like cotton and rice, which could not be made in the North; perhaps this is what lead them to believe they were so powerful. (Doc. D). However, they also felt they depended too much on the North for articles of utility and adornment, as well as rail-roads, canals, and other public improvements (Doc. C). The North, on the contrary, worked primarily on industries and factories. (Doc. B). The conflict between the two came when the South wanted to leave the Constitution and become its own country (Doc. E), which meant that the U.S. would lose a huge amount of its economy, although this was not the main reason why the North did not like the idea of the South leaving the U.S. The North and the South had distinguishably different economies, with the South’s being rural and the North’s industrial, so any changes in tariffs mostly benefited the North rather than the South, which is what mostly upset the
Slavery makes people that are confident and people that think they can do anything, make them feel like they can't do anything and make them not confident.
The north did not agree with slavery. Although the north did not have a need for slaves. The north had immigrants who wanted to come work for them for less pay, this demolished their need or want for slaves. The south had many large farms leaving them with the need for slaves. Farming was not the only use for the slaves but it played a huge roll in the demand for them in the south. Because of their differing opinions
The difference between the North and South’s economy varied greatly. The South had a mainly agricultural economy while the North mainly focused on an industrial economy. It can be seen on the pi charts of the North and South’s economy that the North was more prosperous with their economy do to that fact that one and a half trillion dollars of manufactured goods were produced in the North while only one hundred fifty-five million dollars were produced in the South (Doc 2). The South made most of their money from crops but most importantly cotton. South was the top producer in cotton and it was a very popular crop to buy. The difference in economy between the North and South took a toll on the relationship between them. The difference in economies was a tension that was one event that led to the civil
There were many social differences between the North and the South. Slavery was a main issue between the North and the South. The Northerners opposed slavery however reformers differed on how much equality they thought slaves were entitled to. Theodore Weld wrote that, “every man knows that slavery is a curse” (Deverell White page 416). The Northerners believed that slaves were human and should be free and have
The north and south were very different, while the north was based on industry and trade the south was based on agriculture. Plantations were the way of life and well established in the states that formed the confederacy. The invention of the cotton gin by Eli Whitney became a tremendously profitable business leading to an increase in the number of fermentations willing to grow cotton which created the need for cheap labor, that meant slavery. However, the economy in the northern states were based more on industry, in fact the industries in the north were purchasing the raw cotton and transitioning it to finished goods. Society evolved which meant that the different cultures and classes in the north had to work together.
From the birth of the United States, the country was always divided into two regions, North and South. The North benefited from industry, machines, factories, and even a bit of farming in the Midwest, while the South benefited from one thing. Slaves. Slaves were first brought from Africa as indentured servants, but once the demand of labor increased, they were changed into slaves, meaning they would never earn their freedom. The debate of slavery had always been a topic in politics, however it began growing with the Missouri Compromise of 1820 and the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854. Soon in 1860, the country was divided into two seperate countries, the United States of America (North) and the Confederate States of America (South). However, the question still remains, what exactly caused the Civil War?
The North and South had many political strengths and weaknesses. The South had an amazing fighting spirit because they were fighting to preserve their way of life. They were also defending their home against the northern invaders. While the North was just fighting to continue the Union, and were not as inspired. Furthermore the North had the advantage of President Lincoln being from the North, when the South did not. The South had less states in its Confederacy with only a mere fifteen states, versus the North who had nineteen states in their Union. Lincoln believed that secession was illegal under the law of the Constitution and he would declare war against the rebelling states if necessary. For the first time in American history, Lincoln suspended the writ of habeas corpus, the right of prisoners to a trial, ergo the Union could arrest citizens who might have been southern sympathizers.
Economic and social differences between the north and the south was one of the events of slavery leading up to the Civil War. When the cotton gin was invented in 1793, cotton became a very profitable crop. Before the invention of the cotton gin, it would take one slave a day to remove the seeds from two pounds of cotton. After the invention of the cotton gin, it could be used to clean two pounds of cotton in just half an hour. With the invention of the cotton gin came an increase in the number of plantations willing and wanting to move from other crops to cotton. The south raised rice, sugar, and indigo, but cotton was its main crop. This move from other crops to cotton would cause for a greater need for a larger amount of laborers, meaning a greater need for slaves. The south, becoming a one crop economy, then became more dependent on cotton, thus more dependent on slaves. The north, on the other hand, was less focused on crops and
The Civil War was the war that divided the young American nation into two opposing sides. One side being the North, also called the Union, and the second side being the South, also called the Confederacy. The root cause of why the South seceded from the Union has been debated and argued since the beginning of the war in 1861. Most people argue that the argument, between the North and the South, over slavery was the main reason why the South left the Union. However, the issue has to be more complex than just the issue with slavery. The root cause of the of the South secession from the Union was a combination of the South’s aggravation and fear over their dependence on the North for their economic prosperity and their dependence on slavery for a highly profitable economy.
In 1860, the world 's greatest nation was locked in Civil War. The war divided the country between the North and South. There were many factors that caused this war, but the main ones were the different interpretations of the Constitution by the North and South, the Kansas-Nebraska Act, and the arrival of
The immediate cause of the war was slavery. Southern states, including the 11 states that formed the Confederacy, depended on slavery to support their economy. This already proves to realize slavery as being the primary cause of the American Civil war. But firstly, we need to look at what exactly built slavery up to be the cause of
Generally, it is thought to be the South’s fault for causing the Civil War. Contrary to popular belief, the Civil War was mainly provoked by the North; through using the federal government to overtake the South, removing slavery which would destroy Southern economy, and creating the moral issue of slavery. The North was the primary reason for the start of a war that ripped our country apart.
The causes of the Civil War were complex and have been controversial since the country began. Some causes include; states’ rights, economics, and slavery. The most recognizable and popular cause is slavery. The freeing of the slaves was an important moral issue at the time and one of the greatest causes of the civil war. "It was only by carefully avoiding the moral issue involved in slavery that Northerners and Southerners could meet on any common ground." (Goldston, 79). The time came in which our great country would finally address the moral issue of slavery. Although there are many different causes to the American Civil War, the main cause was slavery because other causes are rooted in the issue of slavery.