There were many reasons for the outbreak of the civil war, a war that fundamentally changed the United States and inspired some of the greatest thinkers to write some inspiring literary works. Many are fascinated by the civil war and want to make sense of what happened. It was a bloody war in which Americans were killing other Americans. The questions and answers brought about during the war would re-shape the American society and provide an answer about the much debated subject of slavery. Each side held a deeply rooted reason for going to war. There are so many factors involved in the reasons behind the war that has captured and fascinated the American’s attention for many years. There were multiple causes of the civil war. A fundamental reason behind the civil war was “uncompromising differences between the free and slave states over the power of the national government to prohibit slavery in the territories that had not yet become states” (McPherson).This was a heated debate in the government and between the citizens of the United States. Limiting the states that could have slavery would confine the southern states that already permitted slavery therefore making slavery’s expansion impossible. This made the South nervous because the slave population kept growing and without expansion they would soon be greatly outnumbered. Many feared an uprising, especially with the prominence of the abolitionist movement. Abraham Lincoln was elected the first Republican president in 1860, an event that made many southerners nervous. Despite being a moderate republican compared to many devote abolitionists, Lincoln’s victory of the presidency scared the southern states into secession. Lincoln never accepted the Southern states claim of ... ... middle of paper ... ...versial debate. In the end, preservation of the United States was the successful cause and the world saw an end to an outdated institution. Works Cited Blight, David, Perf. The Civil War and Reconstruction Era, 1845-1877. Perf. Blight, David. Open Yale, 2008. Film. < http://oyc.yale.edu/history/civil-war-and-reconstruction/content/sessions.html >. Levine, Robert S. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. 7th Edition. Volume B. New York: Norton, 2007. 1696. Print. McPherson, Dr. James. "A Brief Overview of the American Civil War." Civil War Trust. CivilWar.org, 2011. Web. 5 Nov 2011. . "Popular Literature During the Civil War." Encyclopedia Virginia. Encyclopedia Virginia, 06 Nov 2008. Web. 6 Nov 2011. .
The book “For cause and comrades” written by James M McPherson is not one of your typical civil war books. This book is completely different than what everyone would expect, McPherson tries to explain the why of the war behind the scenes of it. He goes into great detail onto how dissects the initial reason of both sides North and South by concentrating not on battlefield tactics and leaders but what emotional and great experiences the men had to face in the battle field.
Turner, Thomas R. 101 Things You Didn’t Know about the Civil War. Avon: Adams, 2007.
McPherson, James M.; The Atlas of the Civil War. Macmillan: 15 Columbus Circle New York, NY. 1994.
Shenton, James P. The Reconstruction: A Documentary History of the South after the War: 1865
Woodworth, Steven E., and Kenneth J. Winkle. Atlas of the Civil War. New York: Oxford UP, 2004. Print.
Book Title: The American Civil War: A Handbook of Literature and Research. Contributors: Robin Higham - editor, Steven E. Woodworth - editor. Publisher: Greenwood Press. Place of Publication: Westport, CT. Publication Year: 1996
Baym, Nina, and Robert S. Levine. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. New York London: W. W. Norton & Company, 2012. Print.
Perman Michael, Amy Murrell Taylor. Major Problems in the Civil War and Reconstruction. Boston: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2011.
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.
In this essay I am going to discuss the causes of the civil war and if slavery was one of the main reasons it happened. I think the civil war started because of lots of different reasons, slavery and the westward expansion being some of them, but I am going to talk about how I think slavery is definitely one of the main causes.1 In 1808 there were more than one million slaves in the United States. The number of slaves continued to increase. In some Southern states for example, South Carolina, slaves outnumbered the amount of the white population. Slavery started to come about around 1776. Slavery had been practised in British North America from early colonial days. Slavery was recognised in the thirteen colonies at the time of the Declaration of Independence.
The Civil War. Prod. Ken Burns. Dir. Ken Burns. By Ken Burns and Ken Burns. Perf. David
Ford, Lacy K. A Companion to the Civil War and Reconstruction. New York City: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing, 2005. Print.
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.
Kelly, M. (n.d.). Overview of the American Civil War . American History From About. Retrieved November 14, 2010, from http://americanhistory.about.com/od/civilwarmenu/a/civiloverview.htm
Civil War, 2014, A Brief Overview of the American Civil War, A Defining Time in Our Nation's History, Dr. James McPherson, 2 June 2016, http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/civil-war-overview/overview.html