The Causes of the American Civil War

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The American Civil War, also known as the War Between the States, the War of Rebellion, or the War for the Southern Independence, began on April 12, 1861. The first shot ringed through the air in Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. General P.G.T. Beauregard from the Congederacy lead the attack on Charleston Harbor. The Civil War lasted until the last Confederate Army surrendered with more than 600,000 lives destroyed $5 billion in property damage and 4 million black salves set free the war had devastated many lives but also started a new beginning.

The cause of this brutal war between one nation; slavery. The Southern states including the 11 states that formed the Confederacy all relied on slavery to support their economy, while we, the Northern states, opposed it. Southern states used slave labor to produce crops, especially cotton. Slavery up here was outlawed, although few of us opposed it.

After we had just defeated Mexico in the mexican War (1846-1848), the main debate on the eve of the war was whether or not we should permit slaver in those states won in the Mexican war. Those states included New Mexico, part of California and Utah.

The Government tried to make this dispute fair by makin the number of non- slave sates and slave states equal, so that their would be no majorities in the senate. Those against slavery were concerned that the expansion of the states won from Mexico because the did not want to compete against slave labor. During the beginning of the war the Union had 19 non-slave states and the Confederacy had 15 slave states. President Lincoln called the nation " A House Divided.

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