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America after the civil war
Explain the political causes of the civil war
Explain the political causes of the civil war
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In 1861, the United States faced the Civil War which was one of the most costly in history. Hundreds of thousands American lost their lives. Decades before the war, the North and South developed in different directions, and several events took place that led up to bloody war of the nation. It originated from deep divides in economy, society, and politics. The central issue was slavery like the French politician Alexis de Tocqueville had observed, “…almost all the differences which may be noticed between the character of the Americans in the Southern and Northern states have originated in slavery” (Rourk et al, 2009, p. 437). Politicians tried hard to reconcile the differences between the North and the South with several compromises but they were unsuccessful to prevent further conflict that would lead up to the war. Thus, the Civil War was inevitable. Shortly after the American Revolution, the North and South developed different economies. The North went through a transition from hand-made to machine-made production of goods. This included the evolution of factories where work was performed on a large scale in a single centralized location (Economic Growth and the Early Industrial Revolution, n.d.). Not only manufacturing became mechanized but also agriculture. With invention of mechanical reapers and the steel plow, agriculture became less physical demanding and the farmers’ productivity increased drastically (Rourk et al, 2009, p. 397). The Industrial Revolution spurred on the economic growth and improved the living standards in the North. Many immigrants, mainly from Germany and Ireland, were attracted to the Northern states, looking for a chance to improve their lives. Moreover, the industrialized economy was based on a free-... ... middle of paper ... ...ynet.com. Retrieved on December 12, 2013, from http://www.historynet.com/causes-of-the-civil-war Cotton and African-American Life. (n.d.). ushistory.org. Retrieved on December 12, 2013, from http://www.ushistory.org/us/22b.asp Economic Growth and the Early Industrial Revolution. (n.d.). ushistory.org. Retrieved on December 12, 2013, from http://www.ushistory.org/us/22a.asp Roark, J.L., Johnson, M. P., Cohen, P. C., Stage, S., Lawson, A., Hartmann, S. M. (2009). The American Promise: A History of the United Stated to 1877. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s: print. The Kansas-Nebraska Act. (n.d.). ushistory.org. Retrieved on December 12, 2013, from http://www.ushistory.org/us/31a.asp Trigger Events of the Civil War. (n.d.). Civil War Trust. Retrieved on December 12, 2013, from http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/civil-war-overview/triggerevents.html
Throughout the years, many people have been taught that the reason the Civil War happened, was to abolish slavery all through the United States. Although that is true, there were more reasons why the Civil War occurred.Referencing will be done on different articles and writers to support the findings of the authors. The article “Slavery, the Constitutional, and the Origins of the Civil War” by Paul Finkelman, discusses about the North (union) and the South (confederacy) and the disagreement of the territories following the constitutional laws regarding slavery, the article explores both sides of the territories and their beliefs of how the situation of slavery should have been dealt with. The article “The Economic Origins of the Civil War” by Marc Egnal, discusses the North’s (union) and the South’s (confederacy) economic situation that could have pushed the two territories to engage in war with one another. Finally, the last article “Politics, Ideology, and the Origins of the American Civil War” by Eric Foner, focuses on the Norths (union) and Souths (confederacy) views on politics and ideas of how each territory is ran and how they have affected the North and the South. These historians supplied specific and different explanations that explained what exactly caused the United States to enter into a Civil War. With the information provided by the authors, the evidence will lead us to the answer of what caused the Civil War.
A rift between the north and the south had been present since the late eighteenth centaury. It began with the industrial revolution, which saw the northern states prosper. The north changed industries from fa...
In the years paving the way to the Civil War, both north and south were disagreeable with one another, creating the three “triggering” reasons for the war: the fanaticism on the slavery issue, the Kansas-Nebraska Act, and the separation of the Democratic Party. North being against the bondage of individuals and the South being for it, there was no real way to evade the clash. For the south slavery was a form of obtaining a living, without subjugation the economy might drop majorly if not disappear. In the North there were significant ethical issues with the issue of subjugation. Amazing measures to keep and dispose of subjugation were taken and there was never a genuine adjusted center for bargain. Despite the fact that there were a lot of seemingly insignificant issues, the fundamental thing that divided these two states was bondage and the flexibilities for it or against. With these significant extremes, for example, John Brown and Uncle Tom's Cabin, the south felt disdain towards the danger the Northerners were holding against their alleged flexibilities. The more hatred the South advanced, the more combative they were to anything the Northerners did. Northerners were irritated and it parted Democrats over the issue of bondage and made another Republican gathering, which included: Whigs, Free Soilers, Know Nothings and previous Democrats and brought about a split of segments and abbreviated the street to common war. Southerners loathed the insubordination of the north and started to address how they could stay with the Union.
The majority of speculations regarding the causes of the American Civil War are in some relation to slavery. While slavery was a factor in the disagreements that led to the Civil War, it was not the solitary or primary cause. There were three other, larger causes that contributed more directly to the beginning of the secession of the southern states and, eventually, the start of the war. Those three causes included economic and social divergence amongst the North and South, state versus national rights, and the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Dred Scott case. Each of these causes involved slavery in some way, but were not exclusively based upon slavery.
The presidential elections of 1860 was one of the nation’s most memorable one. The north and the south sections of country had a completely different vision of how they envision their home land. What made this worst was that their view was completely opposite of each other. The north, mostly republican supporters, want America to be free; free of slaves and free from bondages. While on the other hand, the south supporters, mostly democratic states, wanted slavery in the country, because this is what they earned their daily living and profit from.
The Civil War began on April 12, 1861 at Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor when the Confederate army attacked Union soldiers and ended on May 9, 1865 with a Union Victory. There are many events, laws, and people that provoked the Civil War. The two most important causes are slavery and the expansion of the United States, causing an unbalance of free and slave states. This essay examines major events that initiated the war, starting from the Compromise of 1820 to the election of 1860, and proves how the Civil War was inevitable. After Thomas Jefferson, who served as president from 1801 to 1809, made the Louisiana Purchase on April 30, 1803, the U.S. gained 828 thousand square miles of territory from France.
Between the period of 1820-1861 there was a number of political compromises done in order reduce the sectional tension between the North and the South. While each of the compromises created helped the issue that the country was facing at that time, they did not help overall. The compromises were only a temporary fix to the country’s problem of sectionalism. Therefore, while political compromises were effective in reducing the tension between the North and the South, it did not help in preventing the civil war. The North and the South had a vast amount of political differences, one of the major ones was slavery.
With the economic system, the south had a very hard time producing their main source “cotton and tobacco”. “Cotton became commercially significant in the 1790’s after the invention of a new cotton gin by Eli Whitney. (PG 314)” Let alone, if they had a hard time producing goods, the gains would be extremely unprofitable. While in the North, “In 1837, John Deere patented a strong, smooth steel plow that sliced through prairie soil so cleanly that farmers called it the “singing plow.” (PG 281).” Deere’s company became the leading source to saving time and energy for farming as it breaks much more ground to plant more crops. As well as mechanical reapers, which then could harvest twelve acres a day can double the corn and wheat. The North was becoming more advanced by the second. Many moved in the cities where they would work in factories, which contributed to the nation’s economic growth because factory workers actually produced twice as much of labor as agricultural workers. Steam engines would be a source of energy and while coal was cutting prices in half actually created more factories, railroads for transportation, and ships which also gave a rise in agricultural productivity.
In the north, machines, interchangeable parts, and mass production were fast becoming a way of life. Northerners began building factories for mass production. These first factories were used for making textiles and later evolved to manufacturing a wide variety of goods. This created several opportunities for jobs. And with immigrants flooding in from Europe, finding employment was no problem. The factory system was efficient and inexpensive for the north to employ a large work force.
There are many reasons why the Civil War started. Some experts claim that it was built up tension between the North and South states. Others claim that it was a social clash between slave-owners and abolitionists. What is certain, however, is that slavery was the main issue and the issue that ignited the fuse that led to blood and devastation. In whatever way from whatever perspective, slavery was the primary issue at hand and would be decided by the outcome of the war (Foner, “The Civil War”).
After thoroughly assessing past readings and additional research on the Civil War between the North and South, it was quite apparent that the war was inevitable. Opposed views on this would have probably argued that slavery was the only reason for the Civil War. Therefore suggesting it could have been avoided if a resolution was reached on the issue of slavery. Although there is accuracy in stating slavery led to the war, it wasn’t the only factor. Along with slavery, political issues with territorial expansion, there were also economic and social differences between North and South. These differences, being more than just one or two, gradually led to a war that was bound to happened one way or another.
The population of the North consisted of forward thinking individuals. They realized that a change had to be made from agriculture to industry if they were to prosper and for them to use free labor to accomplish prosperity would be to take a step backwards. This ushered in an small and early Industrial Revolution. Factories and mills that produced finished goods sprung up all over the Northern United States along major waterways. These factories produced fabric, iron, machinery, weapons. Raw materials such as cotton was bought from the South and then sold back to them in the form of clothes. Iron workers made iron railroad ties for the growing railroads across the country. More machinery was being built than ever before. These machines were able to multiply the work that could be accomplished. These industries drew in people from rural areas because they were paying for work. As more people came, they settled around the factori...
The Civil War was the worst war in American history. More Americans died in this war than World War 1 and 2. The events that lead up to the Civil War show that it was a conflict that was going to arise no matter what happened.
The American Civil War In 1860, arguably the world's greatest nation was locked in Civil War. The war divided the country between the North (Union) and South (Confederate). The war lasted five years and by 1865 the Confederate forces were truly beaten. Out of this horrendous war though, where some 600,000 men died grew a greater sense of nationalism than is today, unrivalled around the world.
The American Civil War was the bloodiest military conflict in American history leaving over 500 thousand dead and over 300 thousand wounded (Roark 543-543). One might ask, what caused such internal tension within the most powerful nation in the world? During the nineteenth century, America was an infant nation, but toppling the entire world with its social, political, and economic innovations. In addition, immigrants were migrating from their native land to live the American dream (Roark 405-407). Meanwhile, hundreds of thousand African slaves were being traded in the domestic slave trade throughout the American south. Separated from their family, living in inhumane conditions, and working countless hours for days straight, the issue of slavery was the core of the Civil War (Roark 493-494). The North’s growing dissent for slavery and the South’s dependence on slavery is the reason why the Civil War was an inevitable conflict. Throughout this essay we will discuss the issue of slavery, states’ rights, American expansion into western territories, economic differences and its effect on the inevitable Civil War.