Causes of the American Civil War

In 1861, a Civil War broke out in the United States when the South declared their independence from the Union. There is a great amount of reasons that people can argue how the Civil War was started. However, what most people don’t understand, is that most of the events leading up to the Civil War were related to slavery. Slavery was the core of the North and South’s conflict, which led to a very vicious feud.

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?

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 Civil War was caused by the economics of slavery and the political control of that system, specifically being states’ rights on the federal powers of the government, the territorial expansion of the united states that led to the division of the two sides, and the election of President Abraham Lincoln which was the final event that sent the nation to war.

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.

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.

But the underlying causes of it go much deeper: the North and the South represented two essentially different economic and social systems that could barely co-exist under one national government (Dew). Disputes over slavery reflect a deeper conflict between the two differing mindsets. While the North was building an industrialized economy of free citizens, the South relied on plantation farming, slavery being an integral part of it (American Civil War). Therefore, the secession movement of 1860 had deep cultural and social roots, which is why it led to such a massive

The Compromise of 1820 was one of the first temporary political compromises made to relieve tensions between the North and the South. It was created by Henry Clay, or also known as “The Great Compromiser”. He created it to position a boundary line to balance the number of the free and slave states. This prohibited slavery above the 36 30 Parallel, north of the Louisiana Territory. The Compromise of 1820 also entered Maine as a free state, however Missouri enters as a

“To get congressional support for his Chicago Route in January of 1854, Douglas Proposed organizing the Nebraska Territory for settlement and letting the people living there at the time of statehood decide the statue of slavery”(Kansas Encyclopedia n.pag.). The South greatly supported this idea of popular sovereignty. Douglas felt that this was a nicer way than saying whether or not he personally supported slavery. Instead, he could just be in favor of having the people decide which seems very democratic. However, this repeals that already made Missouri Compromise which states that there cannot be any slavery above the 36’30’ line. Because, in theory, the people of Kansas and Nebraska could decide if they wanted slavery, the South greatly supported this new Act. The North, however, did

Senator Stephen Douglas solves the problem by splitting Clay’s proposal in 5 different bills to allow member of Congress to vote on them separately, In the end, all 5 bills passed. In 1854 Senator Stephen Douglas introduced a bill to settle the issue of slavery in the territories. It organized the region west of Missouri and north of 36 30 N latitude. he hoped to make

All of these ideologies conflicted with each other in one aspect or another. Although some parties had minuet similarities, each party maintained a distinctive position on the topic of slavery. Each political party feared the ideology, and actions of the other existing political parties. The fear drove each party to rush towards a solution to their perceived threats. The Free Soilers, Democrats and Republicans were the main party formations of the nineteenth century. The Free Soilers, a mainly northern party, believed in free land, free labor, and the opposition of slavery. They were driven to protect the producing classes, such as farmers and artisans. The south threatened the Free Soilers ideologies with the notion of slavery expansion. The Democrats believed that people should collectively decide what is best. “The best government is the one that governs least,” (9/3 Recitation) represented the infrastructure of the Democratic Party. The Republican Party was a strong northern represented party formed in 1854. The Republicans idealized confinement of slavery rather than expansion. Overall, in an effort to eventually extinct slavery over a period of time. The Free-Soilers differed in the fact that they wanted immediate extinction of slavery. The differing goals of each political party were followed by placement of legal

Historically, the most common explanation for the cause of the bloodiest conflict in the history of North America was the incompatibility between the northern and southern economies. This is quite accurate but there are also other ancillary factors that played a significant part in pushing the north and south into war. First, was the debate over state’s rights---- which powers rightly belonged to the states and federal government ---- heated up during 1820s onward resulting very tenuous solutions--- the Missouri Compromise, the Compromise of 1850 and Kansas Nebraska Act. Second, exacerbating the tensions was the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860, who ran on a message of containing slavery to where it currently existed, and the success of the Republican Party to which he belonged struck fear into many southerners. Lastly, the growth and influence of the abolitionist

The Whig Party was a political party formed in 1834 by opponents of Andrew Jackson’s policies. Members of the Whig Party were united in their opposition to Andrew’s actions on the Bank of the United States, his ignorance to Supreme Court decisions and the Constitution, and Native Americans. As the issue of slavery became more contested in American politics, the Whig Party became aware of their disparate views on slavery. Within the party, they were divided between Conscience Whigs and Cotton Whigs. Conscience Whigs wanted to abolish slavery whereas Cotton Whigs supported slavery. This divide in opinion caused the party to split. Members who supported slavery joined the Democratic Party and members who wanted slavery to be abolished

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 North turned slavery into a moral issue creating tension between the two distinct parts of the