Causes Os American Civil War Essay Research

Causes Os American Civil War Essay, Research Paper

Causes of the Civil War

CAUSES OF THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR I. Introduction to Civil War

The American Civil War was a war fought within the United States of

America between the North (Union) and the South (Confederacy) starting

from 1861 and ending in 1865. This war was one of the most destructive

events in American history, costing more than 600,000 lives. It was thought

to be one that helped shape the character of the American individual today.

From the Southern point of view, this war was a War of Rebellion, or a War

for Southern Independence. From the Northern point of view this war was

seen as a revolution. This unfortunate war started as a result of many years of

differences between the Union and the Confederacy. It erupted after many

years of conflict building up between the two regions. Between the North and

the South there lay deep economic, social and political differences, but it is

important to understand that Slavery was the root of cause of these

differences. II. Social Causes There were many factors that contributed to

the onset of the Civil War. Socially, the North and the South were built on

different standards. The South, or the Slave States, was a slave-based

community that followed a class-based system. This system consisted of

aristocracy, middle class and then slavery. Many depended on slaves and

were accustomed to this way of life, which was hard to change. Plantation

owners had slaves working for them, and those who could not afford to own

slaves would work on their own farm. The North, or Free States, had more

immigrants settling in its areas, where labour was needed, but not the labour

of slaves. Therefore it had a more industrialized society where most people

worked in factories, and did not follow a class system. The Northerners

opposed to Slavery as an institution in the South, as the Confederate States

were the only region in the world that still legalized the ownership of slaves.

This angered the Southerners and threatened their way of life. The election of

Abraham Lincoln, as president was viewed by the South as a threat to

slavery. III. Economic Causes By time, economic differences also developed

between the two regions. The Southern states were agrarian states, and

depended on agriculture rather than industrialization. After the Cotton Gin

was invented, it increased the need for slaves and made cotton the chief crop

of the South. The South was able to produce 7/8 of the world s supply of

cotton. This increased the South’s dependence on the plantation system and

its vital component, slavery. But by then, the North was prospering

industrially. It feared that the South s slave-based economy might affect their

economy. The North depended on factories and other industrialized

businesses. For this reason many of the new immigrants settled north, while

very few settled south. This allowed the North to grow industrially, while

making the South more hostile towards them. The Confederacy resisted any

kind of industrialization and manufactured as little as possible. Southern

economy opposed high taxes, as manufacturing was limited. But the Northern

states welcomed high taxes to protect its products from cheap foreign

competition. As a result, the South preferred not to accept most

improvements that were made by the federal government, such as roads and

canals, in order to keep taxes low. Another major problem that occurred was

the competition between the North and South for more land. Both regions

wanted to expand socially and economically westwards. The South wanted

more agrarian states, while the North wanted to be able to expand

industrial-wise. Confederate states felt that more agrarian states would help

protect their economy and society in the future. The Union also felt that

expansion would help their future as an industrialized country. As competition

grew between the two sides, unrest grew with it, eventually resulting in the

Civil War. IV. Political Causes Politically, the States were not any more

united in their point of views. They each feared each other s political goals.

Expanding westwards did would not only help each side socially, and

economically, but also politically. More Slave states meant there would be

more Southerners will be involved in congress. But if there were more Free

States, there would be more northern representation in congress. This caused

continuous unrest between the two regions. Also, both the North and the

South had different views on how the government should operate. The south

wanted less government control, and more state freedom, while the North

welcomed the central power of a government. The South viewed the election

of Abraham Lincoln, as president, as a threat to slavery. After Abraham

Lincoln was elected president in 1860, the South

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