Was Slavery the Main Cause Of the Civil War?
There were many things that led to the Civil War. They were slavery, politics, and state right versus the federal government, expansionism, sectionalism, and economics. Historians argue over what the main cause really was that led to the Civil War since no one can really say for sure what it was. Slavery was the main cause of the Civil War.
One of the main causes of the Civil War was the argument over slavery. Though slavery was not the only reason why the civil war happened it is still considered as one of the main reason that led to the fighting between the North and South. Slavery was an important thing not only because of the cruel or religious reasons, but just from the fact that it’s
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States in the North believed in free labor that emphasized on the inherent dignity of labor and equality among men. The Northern States thought that slavery as an unfair competition since it uses men as to get more money. 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 enjoyed. It is because of these reasons that the Northern States wanted to end slavery once and for all in America. Slavery was the main cause of the Civil War.
In 1820 Missouri wanted to join the Union as a slave state. Since it would ruin the balance between Slave states and Free states in the Senate, Henry Clay came up with the Missouri compromise. What it did was make Missouri a Slave state and Maine a free state. “This law prohibited slavery in the Louisiana Territory north of the 36° 30´ latitude line.”(Bibliography source #2) It also allowed the owners to recapture runaway slaves that fled to the North, like wanted posters describing them and how much for the reward. “Runaway from the subscriber, on the night of Thursday, the 30th of September” (Bibliography#3) They limited themselves by only applying the Compromise to the states gained in the Louisiana Purchase, this than led to the fighting after the Mexican war when America gained new territories in the West. This ruined the Missouri Compromise. Historians believe that if the Compromise had been applied to all
Slavery took a major role in causing the Civil War because the Southerners loved the idea of free labor, while the Northerners and Abolitionist hated the idea. In the triangle trade in Africa we would destroy families because we bought them and took them away across the ocean. The labor we put them through was harsh, even against our own constitution. The Northerners also Abolitionist
There where many reasons that lead to the civil war but, the three main reasons in my are the invention of the cotton gin, Uncle Tom Cabin and the Election of Lincoln. This three reason I believe was the main causes to the lead of the Civil War.
The Civil War, which lasted from 1861 to 1877, was mainly caused by the diverging society between the North and the South. The North and the South had different goals. There were many factors that led to the war and the chief ones were political and economic differences between the North and the South. The North’s aggression to control the South had led to the point where it was intolerable. The issue on slavery was one of the causes of the Civil War. Slavery and slave trades had become a big part of the South’s economy. The slaves were needed to work on plantations which helped the South prospered. During the 19th Century, the North worked hard on abolishing slavery, which they thought was a disgrace to the Union.
The Missouri Compromise was a temporary solution to the issue of slavery and territorial rights such as the movement West. Two areas of land wanted to become states in 1820, known as Maine and Missouri. Maine wanted to enter as a free state with no slavery as everyone in that area was against it and wanted it abolished. Missouri wanted to enter as a slave state and was all for slavery and wanted it to be spread all throughout the country. The compromise everyone came into conclusion with, was that there would be no slavery allowed north of 36° 30’ latitude. This angered the Southerners because their intention was to promote slavery not have it abolished. They realized that this compromise threatened the balance between free and slave states; Maine and Missouri. In order to expand slavery, the South felt that the United States would need territory from Mexico. The only area of land left was in Arkansas and that line became known as the Missouri Compromise line. The impact that the Missouri Compromise had on the United States was tremendous and had many effects on issues such as national politics, the institution of slavery, and the overall togetherness of the nation as a whole.
The civil war couldn't have been evaded. If slavery wasn’t a problem the Civil War would have still happened due to tensions between the states. Slavery was only one of the issues before the civil war. There were more issues such as economic changes, and fundamental disagreement on constitutional principles. Cotton production was one of the things slaves did. Therefore if slavery was ended cotton production would go down and the country would become poor. The north wanted to end slavery, but the south thought it was necessary for the economy to stay up. In saying so slavery was fueling the economy. Eventually, the cotton gin was invented which made work somewhat easier. Instead of slavery decreasing it increased even more as cotton production
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.
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.
While it is unfair to say slavery was the only cause of the civil war I believe that many of the causes can be attributed to slavery. I will list three causes to the civil war which barely touches the surface of what I think is one of the most misunderstood wars. The causes I chose are ones that involve slavery in one way or another. First the Dred Scott decision, Dred Scott v. Sandford,(1857), was a decision by the United States Supreme Court that ruled that people of African descent imported into the United States and held as slaves, or their descendants whether or not they were slaves were not protected by the Constitution and could never be citizens of the United States. It also held that the United States Congress had no authority to prohibit slavery in federal territories. The Court also ruled that because slaves were not citizens, they could not sue in court. Lastly, the Court
Some people say that the Civil War was not caused because of slavery but actually slavery was the main cause of the whole war. Some of the reasons why slavery was the main cause is because the southern states wanted to expand it to the west and because the south wanted their states rights on slavery to be enforced. To begin, the southern states wanted to expand slavery to the west but the north wanted it to go away. In “Causes Of The Civil War” the text states, “The South wished to take slavery into the western territories, while the North was committed to keeping them open to white labor alone.” This quotes shows that the north did not want to have slavery expand because it would not keep the free states and the slave states unbalanced.
The cause of the American Civil War has been a politicized subject for the past 152 years. There are many different theories for what the main cause is, however the best answer is an all of the above approach. The cause of the war that divided the nation cannot be narrowly defined into a single issue but each cause is affected and tied together. The main causes that resulted in the Civil War were the issue of nullification, tariffs, but most importantly just an overall difference in their ways of life. Yes, slavery was a cause of the war, but that was not one of the central causes that popular belief has engrained in us all, however, the role that slavery had will be discussed. These reasons all-fed off each other, which eventually
The American Civil War was caused by a number of things. One of the biggest things was slavery in the South and how it was a big issue. Was there a cause or causes that influenced the civil war. Were there any options besides war and what would the options besides fighting that could resolve the conflict. So, what were the causes of the Civil War.
One of the causes of the Civil War was the vast economic differences between the North and the South also another reason that the Civil War started was that the South always had to buy from the North. Plus Southern states wanted to become an independent nation and leave the union.
The civil war was mainly sparked by tensions between the north and the south. Both sides rarely agreed on topics and could never make a compromise. Slavery was a big reason for the start of the civil war, but the causes don’t end there. Although some may say that political or economic reasons started the civil war between the north and the south, political reasons were the real cause. This is because of important decisions made by the government, and the south seceding.
Slavery was the most important cause of the Civil War, because this single issue divided the North and South to begin with. The ideological differences between the North and South led to economic differences, conflicts over newly acquired territories, disputes over the constitution, and political extremism. The Election of 1860 was the culmination of these disputes and caused the South to secede in 1861 and guided the way towards the Civil War.