Most Americans seem to grasp the inherent tragedy of the Civil War. After all, it was an internal affair. Americans who had together fought valiantly to win their independence from the British crown just eighty years prior were now in pitched battle against one another. In some cases, it was literally brother against brother or father against son. However, despite its significance in American history, most Americans are unaware to the causes of the Civil War. Most would say, without blinking an eye, that’s it is all about slavery. It is easy to see why people use slavery as their go-to answer with all the emphasis on the Emancipation Proclamation and the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment as dramatized in the recent film, Lincoln. But is slavery the main cause of the Civil War? Or are there other causes? There are three other main causes of the Civil War that have been promoted as a rival to slavery. They are: economic differences, religious and governmental fanaticism, and the battle between States’ rights and the preservation of the Union. Economic Differences Looking at the other causes for the Civil War, one can first place their focus on economics and the incompatibility between the North and the South. This idea was even expressed by some of the highest government officials during the period. In his speech, titled, “On the Irrepressible Conflict,” Senator William H. Seward (later Lincoln’s Secretary of State) said, “The two systems are at once perceived to be incongruous. But they are more than incongruous-they are incompatible. They have never permanently existed together in one country, and they never can.” (Seward, 2) Further support to this idea was given by husband and wife historians Charles and Mary Beard whose... ... middle of paper ... ...departure from those divine attributes which the believers in a Living God always ascribe to Him? Fondly do we hope--fervently do we pray--that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue, until all the wealth piled by the bond-man's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash, shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said "the judgments of the Lord, are true and righteous altogether".” Slavery has never really left America. Greater than the innumerable debts from reconstruction is the greater reaching problem that America still feels emotionally bound to slavery. While all but few people argue against slavery, schools still have the need to promote anti-slavery. They hold on to that notion.
In Apostles of Disunion, Dew presents compelling documentation that the issue of slavery was indeed the ultimate cause for the Civil War. This book provided a great deal of insight as to why the South feared the abolition of slavery as they did. In reading the letters and speeches of the secession commissioners, it was clear that each of them were making passionate pleas to all of the slave states in an effort to put a stop to the North’s, and specifically Lincoln’s, push for the abolishment of slavery. There should be no question that slavery had everything to do with being the cause for the Civil War. In the words of Dew, “To put it quite simply, slavery and race were absolutely critical elements in the coming of the war” (81). This was an excellent book, easy to read, and very enlightening.
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.
On April 12, 1861, Abraham Lincoln declared to the South that, the only reason that separate the country is the idea of slavery, if people could solve that problem then there will be no war. Was that the main reason that started the Civil war? or it was just a small goal that hides the real big reason to start the war behind it. Yet, until this day, people are still debating whether slavery is the main reason of the Civil war. However, there are a lot of facts that help to state the fact that slavery was the main reason of the war. These evidences can relate to many things in history, but they all connect to the idea of slavery.
The American Civil War was caused because of the North and South differences in economies, disagreements about abolishing slavery and whether the state or federal government had more power. These three factors played a key role in America's deadliest war. Understanding the causes of the Civil War is important because the war was one of the most important events in our nation's history. After the Civil War all men were truly created equal, it reunited the country as one, and redefined what it meant to be an
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.
There were many problems, events, and situations that led to the Civil War. One of the major reasons for the outbreak of the war was sectionalism. Once the United States was split, many of the country's fundamental issues were disputed, with slavery being at the top of the list. Some of the other major issues in dispute were representation, tariffs, and states' rights. Sectionalism is defined as, the sharp socio-economic differences that divided the Northern and the Southern states in the U.S.
The turmoil between the North and South about slavery brought many issues to light. People from their respective regions would argue whether it was a moral institution and that no matter what, a decision on the topic had to be made that would bring the country to an agreement once and for all. This paper discusses the irrepressible conflict William H. Seward mentions, several politician’s different views on why they could or could not co-exist, and also discusses the possible war as a result.
Of the seven deadly sins, the one that has plagued the United States the most throughout its history is greed.. Greed -- i.e., "the excessive desire to possess wealth or goods with the intention of keeping it for oneself." – can be seen in 1614, when Thomas Hunt sailed to Spain from his expedition in America with a ship packed with Patuxet Indians, bound to be sold into slavery. It can also be seen in 1773 as a major factor of the Boston Tea Party, where King George III was yearning for more control over colonial governments and hungry for the revenue from it. Greed can also be seen in 1830 during the Indian removal act, where President Andrew Jackson (backed by many other white Americans) signed a law that forced the five civilized tribes (Creek, Choctaw, Cherokee, Seminole, and Chickasaw) off of their land and dragged to different territories in Oklahoma. In each of those instances, greed served as the ultimate cause of behavior. Despite the many factors that played a significant role in the American Civil War, greed once again served as the catalyst and ultimate cause of the American Civil War. While anti-slavery movements, the idea of states' rights and the vision of "one union" each represented powerful arguments (or justifications for plunging the United States into civil war), the ultimate cause stemmed from fundamental differences between the "North and South" over control of economic power – i.e., modes of production, property, and money.
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 main problem in every event leading up to the Civil War involved the issue of slavery, making slavery the main cause of the war. The initial blame for the war can be pointed at America’s founding fathers who knew slavery violated every aspect of America’s liberty, but yet they still did not prohibit slavery. If it was not the election of President Lincoln that caused South Carolina to secede from the Union, allowing other states to follow, a different event would have triggered the war, making the Civil War inevitable. All in all, the Civil War was bound to happen and it became the bloodiest war in American history.
Yes, slavery was the cause of the Civil War, half of the country thought it was wrong, and the other half just could not let it go or continue. The war was fought overall in different places, and the monetary and property loss cannot be calculated. Arguments about the causes and consequences of the Civil War, as well as the reasons for Northern victory, will continue as long as there are historians to wield the pen ? which is, perhaps even for this bloody conflict, mightier than the sword (Oates 388). The Civil War was a great waste in terms of human life and possible accomplishment and should be considered shameful. Before its first centennial, tragedy struck a new country and altered it for an eternity. It will never be forgotten, but adversity builds strength and the United States of America is now a much stronger nation (Oates 388).
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.
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 Civil War was technically caused by the secession of the Southern States, but the secession was primarily about slavery. One can infer, then, that the Civil War was indirectly, but primarily, caused by Slavery. It is important to note that just because Slavery was the primary cause of the civil war does not mean that the war was only about slavery. The war was fought for a plethora of different reasons that surrounded the creation of a new and independent nation. These reasons include states’ rights (rights to maintain and spread slavery for the most part, however a state’s right to secede appeared to be heavily contested as well), the power of federal government (something the south wanted to weaken in order to maintain slavery), and economic and cultural differences, which had the south relying more heavily on slaves to work at plantations. While these reasons
There are various explanations as to who and what really caused the Civil War. It is even fair to say that sometimes morals stand in the way when deciding who really started the war. Therefore, the facts must be analyzed clearly and in depth. It is true that the north played a major role in the Civil War, however, the south would not release their strict traditional beliefs of slavery. As time progressed, slavery debates pressured the South more and more to stand by their strict beliefs. Fugitive acts, Uncle Tom’s Cabin and Secession all showed how the south used brutal methods to preserve slavery. Therefore, since the popular sovereignty doctrine, the pro-slavery souths’ strict use of slavery and decisions to secede from the nation, angered the north, leading to a civil war.