Preview

Civil War Causes

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
738 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Civil War Causes
During 1851-1865, the Civil War took place lasting four years. It was a war among the American people; specifically the southern states against the northern states. The southern states were known as the Confederate States of America and their leader was Jefferson Davis. On the other hand, the North had kept the name of the United States of America and was also known as the Union and was led by Abraham Lincoln. Although most people mainly associate the Civil War having to do with slavery, there were also many other causes which had led to this war. Some of the main causes of the civil war include the different goals of the North and the South, the North’s desire to control the South, and the issue of Slavery. The industry of the North began …show more content…
In contrast, the North focused on expanding in the industrial and commercial side while the South was more depended in agriculture. Southern states only produced manufactured goods for consumption and the North was capable of exporting their manufactured goods. Because of the economical differences, the South found that the taxes and tariffs were unfair to them because they mostly favored the North. The Tariff act of 1832 put very high import feeds on manufactured goods which was made to protect the industries of the North. Upset with this act, the South threatened to secede from the Union. In addition, railroads were being built in the North which gave the North more easier transportation that that of the South. This allowed the North to trade with the West while the South was only able to trade by seas. The North and the South also had political differences with the North having more of an advantage over the South. Because the North was more populated than the South, they had more power in the House of Representatives. Since the North had a growing population, they firmly believed that majority rules and that they should make the …show more content…
Slavery and the slave trades had started to play an important role in the Southern economy. The south prospered off of slaves because they used them to work on their plantations. In contrast to this, the North wanted to abolish slavery because they though it was brought shame to the Union. Many compromises were made in working toward the abolishment of slavery. These compromises included the Missouri Compromise that made Missouri a slave state and Maine a free state. It also excluded slavery from Louisiana Territory and lands above a certain northern latitude. Other compromises like the Compromise of 1850 did favor both sides by admitting California as a fee state and abolishing interstate slave trade in favor of the North and also including stricter fugitive slave laws in favor of the South. Although these compromises were made to help the slavery issue, they just further pushed the issue back. During this time, “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” was published. It was a novel that emphasized that slavery was wrong and it ignited much tension between the North and the

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Causes of the Civil War

    • 661 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Civil War, which lasted from 1861 to 1877, was mainly caused by the diverging society between the North and the South. The North and the South had different goals. There were many factors that led to the war and the chief ones were political decisions, morality of slavery, and economic differences between the North and the South.…

    • 661 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Causes of the Civil War

    • 1136 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The causes of the Civil War are many, the obvious being slavery, however that is merely on the surface. The underlying causes were far more detrimental to the health of the union, the main cause being money. The economic disputes between the North and the South, which were partially over slavery, were the root to the South seceding. The resentment felt by the South towards the North, because of the growth of cities, ports, and the economy there in general, in addition to the idea of the abolishment of slavery, which would put a serious dent into the economy of the South which was already struggling led them to secede. It has been said that money is the root of all evil, and it certainly is in this case.…

    • 1136 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    had to work together. On the other hand, the South continued to hold onto an…

    • 2158 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Rob Heaney dbq 11 3

    • 890 Words
    • 3 Pages

    One of the first main issues that required compromise to create a reasonable solution was the enactment of tariffs on the south. The main export of the south was cotton. Cotton was what supplied the south with almost all of its money. In about 1828 to 1833 the first major conflict between the north and south was created during the Tariff or Nullification Crisis. In 1828, the North enacted a tariff on the south that severely affected their cotton trade. The tax rates were as high as forty five to fifty percent. The tariffs were nicknamed the "Tariffs of Abominations" because the south was so disgusted at the high rates it was facing. The south spoke out against these high rates and the north lowered the tariff rates to thirty three percent. Despite lowering the tariff, South Carolina decided that they were not going to follow the tariff, and not pay it. The reasoning the state had was that they thought they should not have to follow any sort of law or tax that was not beneficial to themselves. South Carolina nullified the tariff and didn't pay them. The north was outraged at this act. The north thought that the if South Carolina was able to repeal the tariff and ignore it, who would be able to stop them from ignoring laws regarding slavery? The north and the federal government were offended and angry. An example of their displeasure is shown in Henry Clay's speech to the Senate when he states "I merely throw out these sentiments for the purpose of showing you that South Carolina having…

    • 890 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Civil War Causes

    • 692 Words
    • 3 Pages

    “The American Civil War.” What comes to your mind when you hear those words? Slavery controversy, power struggles, fighting, and destruction? Well, all of those are accurate. The American Civil War was a devastating division of the United States of America that lasted for three long, bloody years.…

    • 692 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The Civil War-Causes.

    • 2106 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Question- How valid is this statement? By the 1850's the Constitution, originally framed as an instrument of national unity, had become a source of sectional discord and tension and ultimately contributed to the failure of the union it had created. 1987 AP US History DBQ Essay.…

    • 2106 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Proslavery and antislavery civilians clash. The "tea cup sitting close to the edge of the table" (Background Essay) begins to rattle heavily and almost fall off. The Civil War has begun. This "war between the states" shows that extremity of differences in opinions can lead to violence and death. There were over 618,000 casualties by the end of the war, which lasted from 1861 to 1865. So, what lead to this wildness? The Civil War was caused by three main reasons: economic differences, interpretation of the Constitution, and moral beliefs.…

    • 676 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Civil War Causes

    • 962 Words
    • 4 Pages

    You hear the word civil in such terms as civil rights, civilian, civilization and civil liberty. All are related to the concept of a common citizen and a member of society. So, a civil war is a war between citizens representing different groups or sections of the same country. That is how the Civil War in the United States between 1850-1860 started. The distinction of ideas about slavery between the South and the North was pretty much the main cause of the war. However if we look at the details carefully, the economic forces in the South combined with the cotton plantations and the reactions to abolitionism in the South were the main factors that caused the Civil…

    • 962 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    What Led to the Civil War

    • 301 Words
    • 2 Pages

    During the 1800’s, slavery in America became a bigger and bigger issue and discussion. The North opposed slavery and thought everything about it was wrong. Whereas the South felt slavery was an essential part of their lives, and that without it they would not survive. In April of 1861, during the first month of the Civil War Alfred M. Green delivered a speech to his fellow African Americans to join the Union forces of the North. Green uses allusions in his speech to help persuade his fellow African Americans to join the Union forces.…

    • 301 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    There were many different contributing factors to the start of The Civil War. Five of these causes were the Northwest Ordinance and Missouri Compromise, John Brown’s raid, The 1850 Compromise, The Kansas-Nebraska Act, and the constant conflict between the North and South. The Northwest Ordinance said the there could be no slavery in states north of the Ohio River, however slave holders moved west to new states. This then led to the Missouri Compromise which said no slave states passed the 36 30 degree. John Brown’s raid on the federal arsenal was considered by many to be the cause of the civil war. The 1850 Compromise was also heavily contributed to the start of the civil war. In the compromise New Mexico and…

    • 279 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    During the 17th and 18th century, a war arose in the United States that had a tremendous impact on America as a whole. The war (Civil War) shaped America into what it is today. It made a change, a good change on the American people. Throughout this essay, I’m going to discuss what caused the civil war. In other words, there were many things that led up to the civil war, including, slavery, the south depending on the north, and the violence that was happening in both the South and the North. Therefore, the civil war was caused by a lot, mainly slavery.…

    • 519 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Causes of Civil War

    • 1845 Words
    • 8 Pages

    sovereignity, where the people have the right to decide if they want to be free…

    • 1845 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Causes of the Civil War

    • 1489 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The Political War The North and South fought over politics, mainly the idea of slavery. Basically the South wanted and needed it and the North did not want it at all. The South was going to do anything they could to keep it. This was the issue that overshadowed all others. At this time the labor force in the South had about 4 million slaves. These slaves were very valuable to the slaveholding planter class. They were a huge investment to Southerners and if taken away, could mean massive losses to everyone. Slaves were used in the South as helpers in the fields in the cultivation of tobacco, rice, and indigo, as well as many other jobs. The South especially needed more slaves at this time because they were now growing more cotton then ever because of the invention of the cotton gin. Cotton production with slaves jumped from 178,000 bales in 1810 to over 3,841,000 bales in 1860. Within that time period of 50 years the number of slaves also rose from about 1,190,000 to over 4,000,000. The plantation owners in the South could not understand why the North wanted slavery abolished that bad. Southerners compared it with the wage-slave system of the North. They said that the slaves were better cared for then the free factory workers in the North. Southerners said that slave owners provided shelter, food, care, and regulation for a race unable to compete in the modern world without proper training. . But after the American Revolution slavery really died it the North, just as it was becoming more popular in the South. By the time of 1804 seven of the northern most states had abolished slavery. During this time a surge of democratic reform swept the North and West. There were demands for political equality. The South felt these views were not important. All of these views eventually led to an attack on the slavery system in the South, and showed opposition to its spread into whatever new territories that were acquired. Northerners said that…

    • 1489 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    During 1861 through 1865 over three million men fought in the Civil War. We did not go to war to end slavery and slavery is what divided us but not in war. The Missouri compromise wanted to settle the issue between sectionalism and nationalism. Nationalism is the patriotic feeling for your country and Sectionalism is the interests in a specific local place. What are the three main causes of the Civil War? The three main causes of the Civil War were the Dred Scott Case, the Kansas-Nebraska Act, and the Abolitionist. These causes can be supported in many political, economic, and geographic ways.…

    • 911 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Sectional Differences

    • 747 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Before the Civil War America was divided. The two division, north and south, were located in the same country but were very different from each other. The North and the South made it very clear that they live different lifestyles. Their terrain was different along with their tariffs. These sectional differences in way of life led to the American Civil War.…

    • 747 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays