Essay on Events that Led to the Civil War

During the early nineteenth century the United States began to split, but at the middle of the century people views started to become more concrete and so separation in the Union became more drastic. From 1850 to 1861 it was apparent that the union was separating into the North and the South. The Constitution played a major role in the separation that was occurring. Through sectional favoritism of bits and pieces of the Constitution and through ideas that were left out of it, the Constitution led to sectional discord and nearly the failure of the union.

Many causes led to the Civil War. This all happened around the mid 1800s. It was a conflict between the Northern and Southern states. Both sides had their own view on slavery, and their separate views caused contentions between the two. Both had different views on whether to expand or stop slavery growth to the West, or have slavery at all.

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.

Since Missouri’s population was composed of 16 percent slaves, it would be admitted as a slave state therefore upsetting the balance in favor of the south. Northerners didn’t like this because Missouri was at the same latitude as the free states of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, and because of this they feared that it would set a precedent for slave states coming more north. The north and south continued to argue and argue over the issue of slavery. The north accused the south of trying to extend the institution of slavery and the south said that the north was conspiring to destroy the Union and end slavery. To resolve this crisis, congress passed a series of agreements that became known as the Missouri Compromise, which smoothed over the crisis. In 1820, Congress admitted Maine as a free state and Missouri as a slave state in order to balance the number of free and slave states and to keep order between the north and south. Also, it prohibited slavery in the remainder of the Louisiana Purchase north of the southern boundary of Missouri. This compromise soon fell apart after it was passed. Missouri drafted its own Constitution saying that free blacks were prohibited from entering their territory. Because of this provision, which was against the federal Constitution stating that citizens of one state were entitled to the same rights as citizens of other states, antislavery northerners

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

There were many different views on slavery in the North and South. This led to tension between pro-slavery and anti-slavery citizens. Lincoln’s election, the Dred Scott Decision, and Bleeding Kansas, are three of the numerous events that led to the Civil War.

Political tension between the North and the South started early when there was disagreement over Henry Clay’s American System. The American System imposed tariffs to support northern manufacturing, federally funded roads and canals, and supported the National Bank. Northerners were in support of the American System but the South wasn’t on board with the plan. This protective tariff was a tax on imports, and since the South was receiving most of the imported goods, they got the brunt of the tariff. The South believed it was unfair that it was putting money into the North’s industrial economy when the South was barely making enough revenue to support itself. While the South provided the Northern industries with most of the raw materials they needed, the price the North paid for these things were nothing compared to what the South had to pay for the manufactured goods the North produced. The opposition to the American System was so strong that South Carolina declared the tariffs void and threatened to leave the Union. But Andrew Jackson worked with South Carolina and the Union remained whole. This was the Nullification Crisis of 1832. The two regions clashed politically too. While the North became generally

Unlike the Confederate South, the North decided to not utilize slave labor like the South did because their economy did not call for farming that required large amounts of labor for rapid production. The Union also decided to not utilize slave labor because slave labor was against many of the northerner’s morals. Since the North was industrialized and they manufactured goods, they had to compete with other manufactures overseas. To demolish competition from the imported goods from overseas, the northerners demanded high tariffs on the imported goods so that more people will buy the manufactured goods from the North instead of the now more expensive imported goods from overseas. The

The Civil War happened due to the many differences between the North and the South. For example economic, social, cultural and political differences. These all helped lead America to a Civil War. But to an extent, the most important cause was the fact there were many disagreements with states' rights versus federal rights.

The 1850's were a turbulent time in American history. The North and South were seeing total different views on the issue of slavery. The North saw slavery as immoral and that it was unconstitutional. The south on the other hand saw slavery as their right. The South viewed African Americans as lower human beings which justified slavery. "The 1850's was a time of attempted compromise when compromise was no longer possible." This quote best describes this time period, because Americans were trying to compromise their views to prevent a large conflict, but there were many events which made a compromise impossible.

Tariffs caused economic differences between the North and the South. Tariffs were generally in favor of the Northern industries in which they benefited more. These tariffs were able to protect Northern industries and their imports and exports. The South on the other hand did not have an industry based economy. Their economy was centered

The American Civil War, which began in 1861 to 1865, has gone down in history as the one of the most significant events to have ever occurred in the United States of America, thus far. At that time, questions had arose wondering how the United States ever got so close to hitting rock bottom, especially being that it was a conflict within the country itself. Hostility steadily grew through the years dividing the nation further and further, and finally leading to the twelfth day in April 1861 in Fort Sumter, North Carolina. The American Civil War was an irrepressible battle and aside from the obvious physical effects of the war, the disagreement over states rights, the act of slavery, and the raising of tariffs played crucial roles in the

In the Civil War the North had many advantages over the South. The South was outnumbered, out supplied, and pushed into a corner using military tactics. Many things changed because of the Civil War. The military tactics used by the North changed how war was fought from then on. Many changes were made politically; some were only temporary, while others were permanent. After the war was over, the country was reunited and the image of the soul and duty of our country redefined.

Southerners believes that if the United States could forbid slavery in Missouri, they could do so elsewhere. It 1820 congress finally agreed that slavery would be allowed in Missouri, but at the same time Maine would be carved out and admitted to the union as a free state. They also agreed that as the United States Expanded westward, states north of the 36 and a half degrees North would be free states, while states south of that would be slave states. This angered the north because under the compromise the new slave states covered more land than that of the new free states. Northerners worried that another slave state might increase the power of the southern states in the government.