The Cause Of War: The American Civil War

WAR WAR. The very sound of those three letters can conjure up feelings and images of fighting, explosions, fear, sorrow, hate, and most importantly death, especially to those who have been in one or even two. But not everything associated with war is a bad thing. For some, war gives people hope, faith, understanding, and camaraderie, amongst other things. There are many reasons why a war starts. It could be a civil war, in which a whole singular country fights within itself or even a war of genocide in which a race of people believe that another race of people are not fit to live and must be exterminated. Other types of wars could also be for a religious, class, unification, trade and revolutionary cause. The American Civil War was waged for four years starting in 1861 to 1865. America has been in a handful of big wars, but this war will always be remembered because it was a war that divided the country and could have possibly turned North America into a series of countries, also it was the deadliest war in American history with over 600,000 soldier deaths and countless civilian casualties.
Before being elected into office, Abraham Lincoln had been campaigning against the slavery that was so widespread in the country, especially in the southern states. He campaigned that slavery would not be expanded amongst states where it had already existed if he was elected. He had been campaigning so heavily that several southern states had declared their secession even before he took office in 1861. Most people felt that the secession was an illegal act against the union and both sides had begun to raise armies, with Lincoln calling for volunteers from both sides and the Confederated states bearing arms for its