The Civil War lasted between and and it resulted to more than , casualties. However, the causes of Civil War can be traced back to tensions that were created early in the history of the nation. Mainly, the war between the sates was caused by social and economic differences between the South and the North, federal rights versus the state, the differences between slave and non-slave Estimated Reading Time: 7 mins Causes Of The American Civil War essay Sectional tension increased during the mid 19th century bringing America into a civil war. There were a few important factors that helped to increase tensions in both the North and the South. Some of these factors were the Anti-Slavery movement, Kansas-Nebraska Act, the Fugitive Slave Law, John Br MLA format; 6 pages long; Thesis is shown below: We can see that Civil War was not only due to the conflicts upon slavery between North and South, but more importantly, it also exists in a federal system with a serious localist tendency, compromised imbalances and limited central power, which has exacerbated the instability of this system and caused conflicts between the two sides in slavery
Causes Of The Civil War Essay
The American Civil War of was fought between the Union the northern states and The Confederates the southern states under the presidency of Abraham Lincoln. This international conflict is perhaps the most written about and studied piece of United States history.
The war brought about an estimated , casualties, more than the American Revolution, World War I, World War II and Vietnam put together.
From DecemberSouth Carolina succeeded from The Union and so this began the conflict between The North and The South. So exactly what caused the civil war? The war was a result of conflicting ideological, cultural and economic ideas between both regions. Arguably the general consensus is that slavery was the primary cause of the civil war. Even though there were differences of opinion on slavery within Union states at the time and not all the states that held slaves were part of The Confederacy, it was generally clear that The North and The South held opposing views to slavery, leading to political causes of the civil war.
From a philosophical perspective, slave ownership was not consistent with republicanism, a philosophy which held unalienable individual rights and liberty as its key central values. As republicanism was the core philosophy of the United States, The Union longed to bring slavery to a gradual end by containing its spread throughout the nation.
The South believed that this idea went against their Constitutional rights and that they should be allowed to own slaves if they so desired. The majority of slavery was illegal causes of civil war essay The North as it had been outlawed in the 19th century, yet its expansion was rife in southern states.
The rise of chattel slavery meant that slaves could be bought and sold as property and any children the slaves had could become property too. People were owned outright, unlike in The North. The culture of abolitionists in the Union vs. the strong desire to use cheap slave labour in The South created strong conflicts between both parties which ultimately escalated.
As Lincoln stated in his inaugural address, one-eighth of the American population were coloured slaves that were localised in The South which had particular and powerful interests, causes of civil war essay.
All knew that these interests were somehow the cause of the war. New England states and the climate of The North were largely not suited for farming and so this industry was not embraced.
Instead, manufacturing was the booming industry in this region and goods were made with machines instead of being causes of civil war essay. The booming manufacturing industry and exports overseas meant that cities were able to grow in northern states and city life becoming the norm of northern society. In contrast, The South was a much better region for growing, with a lot of fertile soil, especially along the mineral-rich river basins. The agricultural industry meant that unlike cities, owners could have large farms with enormous open fields.
Cotton, rice, tobacco and the indigo plant were key products grown in largely monoculture farms that required labour from numerous slaves.
To put it simply, The North liked producing products and The South liked growing, and so this produced the economic causes of the Civil War. Because of the larger population in the northern region, greater technological advances and economic success lead to greater quantities of manufactured goods, therefore slavery was gradually phased out.
This was in contrast to The South which depended on slavery for its predominant agricultural economy. Southern states had little desire to embrace manufacturing as businesses were based on low cost labour and so supported the right to sell cotton and purchase manufactured items from any country. In contrast, Northern states had heavily invested in manufacturing and could not compete with advanced European industries to offer high prices from southern cotton imports and lower prices for manufactured good exports in return.
This difference in economic interests meant that The North supported tariffs on goods whereas The South demanded a free trade. Some historians debate whether differences in economy between northern and southern regions did help propel the war.
A number of academic sources seem to suggest that both regions economies were complementary, i. The North and The South did trade a significant amount with each other which brought about mutual benefits. However, it is clear causes of civil war essay the interweaving of the slave culture into the southern economy meant that Confederate states would have lost a lot if slavery was taken away from them, and this would have been a great source of tension.
If the causes of civil war essay of the majority of southern businessmen were at stake, it is no wonder they would have gone to extraordinary lengths to defend their interests. Tensions were unsurprisingly high and loyalty began to brew within regions right before the time of the war, leading to widespread sectionalism. At the time it felt like two separate parts of the world and because each region thought of themselves as different, it was more easy for animosity and conflict to brew between these regions.
The South argued that each state had rights to secede and leave the Union whenever they wanted — they claimed that states should decide whether they want to pass laws or not, causes of civil war essay, as the states were themselves important individual regions. South Carolina ignored a tax on cotton passed by The North because The South was cotton rich and so South Carolina wondered why they had to listen to such laws that would not affect The Causes of civil war essay to the same degree, The North hardly growing cotton at all.
The South saw Abraham Lincoln as a threat and so argued that they should have the right to secede or leave the United States, causes of civil war essay. It was argued that each state has its own separate identity and so each state should be able to walk away if they want to.
In effect, the issue of states rights caused many states to do just that and to form their own group called The Confederacy or The Confederate States of America. Lincoln tried to downplay the slavery side stating that the war was mainly about preserving the union, however, it is clear that the predominant factor that resulted in the civil war was slavery. The brutal and horrific practice of slavery filtered through into all of the causes of the civil war, creating tensions that paved the way for such loss of life, suffering and destruction.
All causes mixed together forming a potent reason to fight for the good of either The Union or The Confederacy. Whatever individual motives people had, whether they were based on political ideology or economic motives, millions of men were eager to fight and die, causes of civil war essay.
The Causes of the American Civil War Essay Example The American Civil War of was fought between the Union the northern states and The Confederates the southern states under the presidency of Abraham Lincoln. Slavery Arguably the general consensus is that slavery was the primary cause of the civil war. The Economy New England states and the climate of The North were largely not suited for farming and so this industry was not embraced.
Sectionalism and Nationalism Tensions were unsurprisingly high and loyalty began to brew within regions right before the time of the war, causes of civil war essay, leading to widespread sectionalism. Key questions were posed: What rights do states have over the central government?
Should states have more power than central government? Should the causes of civil war essay government have all the power in making decisions? Conclusion and Aftermath Lincoln tried to downplay the slavery side stating that the war was mainly about preserving the union, however, it is clear that the predominant factor that resulted in the civil war was slavery.
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Causes of the Civil War by Shmoop
, time: 3:15Causes Of American Civil War Essay Example: What Caused The Civil War?
The Civil War lasted between and and it resulted to more than , casualties. However, the causes of Civil War can be traced back to tensions that were created early in the history of the nation. Mainly, the war between the sates was caused by social and economic differences between the South and the North, federal rights versus the state, the differences between slave and non-slave Estimated Reading Time: 7 mins · Causes of the Civil War Essay Social long term: North was opposed to slavery while the South was pro slavery The primary conflict of the civil war was whether the states had the right to decide what they wanted to do with slavery MLA format; 6 pages long; Thesis is shown below: We can see that Civil War was not only due to the conflicts upon slavery between North and South, but more importantly, it also exists in a federal system with a serious localist tendency, compromised imbalances and limited central power, which has exacerbated the instability of this system and caused conflicts between the two sides in slavery
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