Money : The Real Cause Of The Civil War

Slavery, as Abraham Lincoln often noted, was the root cause of the Civil War. Tensions over slavery dated back to the contradictory nature of the American Revolution of 1776 that resulted in a republic simultaneously committed to freedom for whites and bondage for blacks (Barney W., p. 61). Within years North and South reached the point at which compromise was not possible. At that time Civil War had been started.

While the United States worked hard to set up a working government, a heavily debated topic was states’ rights. “When high protective tariffs were passed by Congress in 1828 and 1832, South Carolina, led by John Calhoun, threatened to nullify them, making them null and void within that state” (What Caused the Civil War). Nullifying the law means that the state would ignore it. The Southern states were angered by the tariffs because they benefited the North and made it more difficult for the South. Hinston Helper states, “It is a fact well known to every intelligent Southerner that we are compelled to go to the North for almost every article of utility and adornment, from matches, shoepegs and paintings up to cotton-mills, steamships and …; that almost everything produced at the North meets with ready sale, while at the same time, there is no demand, even among our own citizens, for the productions of

The immediate cause of the war was slavery. Southern states, including the 11 states that formed the Confederacy, depended on slavery to support their economy. This already proves to realize slavery as being the primary cause of the American Civil war. But firstly, we need to look at what exactly built slavery up to be the cause of

One reason why the South seceded is because of a high tariff or tax on European imported good by the North. Page 342 stated that the Northern Government placed a high tariff to beat other competitors to protect american industry after the war.Document 2 stated that the South was forced by the North to buy the Northern industry material to protect the Northerner income. This forced Southern buyers to start purchasing materials from the Northern industries which were also very expensive. Many Southerners felt anger towards the way that the North put a tax on the goods they wanted. Even during the Civil War Southerners remembered how unfair the North had treated them.

What caused the South to secede from the union ? The South secede from the Union in 1861 because the North was going to take away their lifestyle. The South withdrew from the North because the North was trying to take away the South’s ways of living.

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.

There are various issues that led to the secession of the South, and eventually to the American Civil War. From the time period of 1846 to 1860 many things occurred that contributed to the shift to war and the secession of Southern States, but three things that brought forth both the secession and war was The Bleeding of Kansas, John Brown’s Raid, and the election of Abraham Lincoln.

The southern states felt attacked when the Federal government placed a high tax on imported goods. (pg. 341). This became known as the tariff of abominations. (pg. 342). The southern states imported more goods than the norther states because they did not produce many finished goods required for everyday life. The southern states felt that this tax helped the northern states at their expense. The southern states exported unfinished goods to all over the world like cotton, tobacco, and sugar cane. South Carolina was once again the first to take action against this new tax. Politicians brought the problem up to congress and were able to get the tax reduced in 1832. (pg. 342). This reduction did not satisfy the southern states. They wanted the tax removed. Again the issue was brought to congress but it was not removed so South Carolina took radical action. The state legislature passed an act nullifying the federal law and refused to collect the tax at all of its ports. (pg. 342) So over the issue of a slave built economy a state government was over ruling the federal government. This is a major problem American politics. The federal government was created to have power over the state

The first possible cause for the start of the Civil War was the economic differences. The first piece of evidence is from Document A, it shows that the north had more railroads so they could transport goods much faster and easier while the south didn't have as many railroads making it harder for them to trade and transport. The second piece of evidence is from Document B it says the north has almost everything the have more population, industrial workers, their manufactured goods have more value per year, they have more railroad mileage, and they grow more corn. The only things the south has more of is slaves and cotton. The last piece of evidence is from Document C it explains that southerners were compelled to go the the north because they have everything. They have almost every article of utility and adornment and the south has to go to the north to get anything besides cotton. The south has no foreign

Confederates quickly shed their American identity and adopted a new Confederate nationalism. Confederate nationalism was based on several ideals, foremost among these being slavery. This mindset brought problems into the infrastructure of the new government. Since the Confederacy was newly founded, it had little funds to operate as a country so the rich southerners used their money to fund it with controlling interest. Since the south lacked industry, it heavy relied on the plantations as the main income for the country’s economy. They had to rely on the export of resources from the plantations to acquire funds, but since production relied on a lot of conditions it was not a stable source of income like the industrialized north. Since the government was founded on slavery there were a lot of countries that disagreed with the slave trade so the confederacy did not gain many allies that would help them in the shirt time that they were in control. With the Union government having contracts and business with most of the countries in this time, when Lincoln declared his inaugural address, that the secession was legally

I believe that the biggest reason that the South wanted to secede, was the North wanted to eradicate slavery. There are other reasons that helped push the South to secede, like how the South wanted to have equal State Rights, or even Abraham Lincoln being elected president. A quote that shows that the South overreacted to lincoln being elected is “When President Lincoln got elected, the South was convinced he would end slavery, even though President Lincoln never said he would do that.” so when the South overreacted to him becoming president and seceded this just fueled the flames of the Civil War. These are the main reasons that I believe the South started the Civil War.

Part 1:The secession of 1860 could not be blamed on one event or idea. The conflict was due to decades of tension and conflict as Americans struggled to create systems of law governance that balanced out the interest of individuals, states, and the federal government. One of the major reasons was due to slavery, which has been an important topic in politics. As early as 1775 all colonies allowed slavery but as the years came, the North and South started to divide.

When examining the events that took place during the Civil War, there is a great misconception regarding the reason for military engagement. Many believe that it was due to the attempt to release the slaves from the South in order to grant them the same freedom and rights as any white person, but this was not the case. In actuality, the war had less to do with slavery, and more to do with the union of the states. During the time of the civil war, the states that were a part of the United States were entitled to leaving to union if they wanted to, and the Southern states felt betrayed. They felt that their rights were being overlooked while the North had their rights being catered to so that their economic and industrial power could grow. At this time, Abraham Lincoln had announced that the war was to save the Federal Union and if that meant leaving the slave situation as it was, he would do so. Therefore, the war became about whether the Federal Government had a say over the states, or if the States could decide to go against what the Federal Union’s decisions. Lincoln foresaw slavery dying out and knew that this would be the ruin of the South before the war ever happened. The demise of the south hinted at one of the more crucial reasons for the military being engaged. The economic distress that the South was subjected to while the North prospered was the key issue. The South lost their banks as well as their assets in the form of gold and solver, and with those not

Generally, it is thought to be the South’s fault for causing the Civil War. Contrary to popular belief, the Civil War was mainly provoked by the North; through using the federal government to overtake the South, removing slavery which would destroy Southern economy, and creating the moral issue of slavery. The North was the primary reason for the start of a war that ripped our country apart.

Although the American Civil War mainly occurred because of slavery, the fact is that slavery had a lot to do with economic and social issues.