Causes Of The Civil War Essay

By the year of 1860, the North and the South was developed into extremely different sections. There was opposing social, economic, and political points of view, starting back into colonial periods, and it slowly drove the two regions farther in separate directions. The two sections tried to force its point of view on the nation as a whole. Even though negotiations had kept the Union together for many years, in 1860 the condition was unstable. The presidential election of Abraham Lincoln was observed by the South as a risk to slavery and many believe it initiated the war.

In 1954, the Kansas- Nebraska Act was passed. Northern Democrat Steven Douglass in an attempt to build a transcontinental railroad petitioned the Kansas-Nebraska act on the bases that the Compromise of 1850 validated popular sovereignty. In Douglass’s opinion the Compromise of 1850 made the Missouri Compromise of 1820 void. There was opposition from Northern politicians who believed that the Missouri Compromise of 1820 was a sacred pact made by previous lawmakers during the union’s long history of compromises. For Southern politicians the Kansas- Nebraska Act would help the extension of slavery which most of the Northerners were against. Ignoring the wishes of the Northerners and pushing the Democratic agenda which wanted not only the

You can’t exactly say that a certain event was the exact cause of the Civil war because that even was triggered by the one before it and the one before that. You can only personally decide which of those events was the most important to you. There were certain events such as the ones listed, that were a certain breaking point in the time line to the

Industry, slavery, and territorial disputes were just 3 of the multiple different causes of the Civil War. After the election of Abraham Lincoln, the people of the U.S. began to realize that the country is a whole and not two different territories. Understanding the causes of the Civil War are important to understand because the entire idea of unifying the North and South was to grant equal rights for all U.S. citizens regardless of their skin color or ethnicity. It is important to be able to look back on the past so we can change our future for a greater

Although some historians feel that the Civil War was a result of political blunders and that the issue of slavery did not cause the conflict, they ignore the two main causes. The expansion of slavery, and its entrance into the political scene.

There were many long-term causes and short term causes that aided and pushed forward the impending Civil War. The short term causes, however, were the most effective because they happened quickly and completely divided the nation in half. The causes were not only rapid and influential, but they were also all the consequences of the prior, creating an exponential rampage of divergence which led the country straight to Civil War. These short term causes were (in order of first to following): The Kansas Nebraska Act, the rise of the Republican Party, and finally Lincoln’s election.

The Civil War was caused by many several pressures, principles, and prejudices, fueled by sectional differences, and was finally set into motion by a most unlikely set of political events. From economic differences to political differences all the way up to cultural differences, the North and the South opposed each other. These tensions were further increased after the western expansion of the United States. By the early 1850’s a civil war was known to be likely coming soon.

In 1819, two more states wishing to join the union, were Missouri and Maine. Missouri wanted to join the union in the in the north, but as a slave state. this would make the balance of power in congress unequal. Many northerners opposed this idea. Northerners proposed that Missouri be a slave state and that no more slaves were to be brought in, and all slave children would be free at age 25. Eventually Missouri would be a free state. Southerners were opposed to this idea. Congress debated for months. This brought about the Missouri Compromise of 1820, when Henry Clay proposed that Maine enter the union as a free state. He also proposed prohibiting slavery above the 36’30’ latitude, which is the southern boundary of Missouri. Since plantations would not be able to survive further north of this line, the South agreed.

In the early 1800s, it appeared that these political battles could be decided with congressional compromises. Document A, also known as the Missouri Compromise, was created in 1820 to address the new state of Missouri. Whether or not Missouri was a slave state or free would be a watershed event, as from the onset it appeared one side would have more power in Congress. However, Henry Clay, one of the most famous congressmen of the time, was able to split up Massachusetts in order to create a new free state, Maine. With Maine being free, Missouri could join as a slave state, and both sides were appeased. However, no side was ever truly appeased, with Kansas-Nebraska act eventually repealing the Missouri compromise in 1854, only 34 years later. It is true that many more states were added into the union in those 34 years, such as Texas, California, and New Mexico. However, the Missouri compromise itself was not thought out for the long term, as it designated a single latitude line to divide the slave and free

The Industrial Revolution that the North was experiencing was great for the country. The factories brought in substantial revenue for the government. This was attained because the factories workers could build faster, and sell larger quantities of the product which meant they could make larger amounts of money rapidly. The Industrial Revolution, however, was only being experienced in the North, and not the South, which eventually led to much difficulty and a disparity between these regions of the country. With the support of the Union, the North wanted the South to join them, but they were so invested in their farm sand plantations that they couldn’t abandon them and build factories, and this is where the economic

Slavery was the main cause of the breakup of the Union and influenced other factors, such as territorial expansion, industrialization and economic tensions, and political alignments. Combined, all of these conflicts, with slavery at the root, led to the conflicts in the nation that started the Civil War. The issue of slavery caused conflict regarding new territories, economic stratification, and political turmoil. All of these tensions served to divide the nation, North against South, to start the Civil War.

The Civil War was caused by the idea of States’ rights, the hypocrisy of the United States in its celebration of ‘Independence Day’ while slavery existed, and the election of President Abraham Lincoln.

The creator of the act was Senator Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois, who wanted to see citizens be able to settle in these territories. Underlying it all, Douglas’s real desire was to build a transcontinental railroad to go through Chicago. Although opposition was intense, The Kansas-Nebraska Act was finally passed by congress on May 30, 1854. It allowed settlers in the territories of Kansas and Nebraska to decide whether slavery would be legal or not within their borders based on popular sovereignty. Territory north of the 36°30' parallel was now open to popular sovereignty as Northern leaders’ moods grew darker than the midnight sky. This sudden change in affairs largely contributed to the humongous political change that was about to happen next.

During the 1850s, slavery had become a topic of great discussion, especially when it came to the organization of new territories, and whether slavery should be allowed or prohibited in these new territories. Some argued that slavery was right, while others though it was not and should be ended, causing fear and anger between the free-states in the North and the Southern Slave states. This would lead to many problems for the nation. These problems not only created a division between the northern and southern states, it caused blood to be spilled and led to beginning of the American Civil War. Within these events, four significant ones created the spark needed to start the Civil War. These events were the Kansas Nebraska Act of 1854, Bleeding Kansas, Harper’s Ferry Raid, and the Secession of the South from the Union, which created a division between northern and southern states and made the American Civil War inevitable.

Lincoln in office. These factors were very crucial in the bringing upon of the destruction of the Union. They caused immediate war.