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Essay On Cause Of Civil War

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“Slavery cause the Civil War” Jeffrey W. Crawford Instructor: Dr. Peter Skirbunt Course: History 1301 College: Central Texas College Did slavery cause the Civil War? While slavery was not the only cause for the South to secede and take up arms against the United States, it was the central motivation for the Civil War. While many still debate the ultimate causes of the Civil War, Pulitzer Prize-winning author James McPherson writes that, "The Civil War started because of uncompromising differences between the free and slave states over the power of the national government to prohibit slavery in the territories that had not yet become states. In 1860 Abraham Lincoln was elected President which he was the first Republican president on …show more content…

Consequently, the political leaders in the South who were also plantation owners opposed any move on the part of the federal government to abolish slavery. In contrast, Northern States relied on manufacturing as their source of income. They were more industrialized compared to the Southern States. Though laborers were needed for production, they did not need tolerate slavery. Moreover, states in the North believed in a free-labor ideology that emphasized on the inherent dignity of labor and equality among men. Further, the Northern State considered slavery as an unfair competition since it uses men as means to acquire more wealth. They also feared that in the future the plantation owners who dominated and controlled the politics in the South may soon threaten democracy which the Northern States enjoy. Because of these reasons, the Northern States sought to abolish the institution of Slavery in the South. Causes of the Civil War 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. The North didn 't care about slavery as long as it stayed in the South. South Carolina

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