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Civil War Essay: The Major Contributing Factors to the Civil War

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If asked, most people would blame as the cause of the civil war the issue of slavery. This is understandable; many people in the U.S. at the time were against slavery, going to far as to help runaway slaves escape to the free north. But, while slavery at face value was a major factor, international politics and economics played a major role. Several factors, including the election of Lincoln, the raid on Harper 's Ferry, the Dred Scott decision, and, most importantly, the fugitive slave law, contributed to the growing rift between the North and South and, eventually, the Civil War. Abraham Lincoln is most always associated with the Civil War. But, he was not elected through a majority of the popular vote. In fact, with only forty percent …show more content…

Northern abolitionists were shocked; their plan for compromise was no more slavery in any territory, and this ruling shut down their cause. Abolitionists feared that slavery would now spread into more territories, and Northern democrats, who favored popular sovereignty, and southern democrats, who favored slavery, were divided further in the Dred Scott Decision. This case contributed to the division of the Democratic Party, who then nominated three separate candidates, resulted in the

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