Causes Os American Civil War Essay, Research Paper
Causes of the Civil War
CAUSES OF THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR I. Introduction to Civil War
The American Civil War was a war fought within the United States of
America between the North (Union) and the South (Confederacy) starting
from 1861 and ending in 1865. This war was one of the most destructive
events in American history, costing more than 600,000 lives. It was thought
to be one that helped shape the character of the American individual today.
From the Southern point of view, this war was a War of Rebellion, or a War
for Southern Independence. From the Northern point of view this war was
seen as a revolution. This unfortunate war started as a result of many years of
differences between the Union and the Confederacy. It erupted after many
years of conflict building up between the two regions. Between the North and
the South there lay deep economic, social and political differences, but it is
important to understand that Slavery was the root of cause of these
differences. II. Social Causes There were many factors that contributed to
the onset of the Civil War. Socially, the North and the South were built on
different standards. The South, or the Slave States, was a slave-based
community that followed a class-based system. This system consisted of
aristocracy, middle class and then slavery. Many depended on slaves and
were accustomed to this way of life, which was hard to change. Plantation
owners had slaves working for them, and those who could not afford to own
slaves would work on their own farm. The North, or Free States, had more
immigrants settling in its areas, where labour was needed, but not the labour
of slaves. Therefore it had a more industrialized society where most people
worked in factories, and did not follow a class system. The Northerners
opposed to Slavery as an institution in the South, as the Confederate States
were the only region in the world that still legalized the ownership of slaves.
This angered the Southerners and threatened their way of life. The election of
Abraham Lincoln, as president was viewed by the South as a threat to
slavery. III. Economic Causes By time, economic differences also developed
between the two regions. The Southern states were agrarian states, and
depended on agriculture rather than industrialization. After the Cotton Gin
was invented, it increased the need for slaves and made cotton the chief crop
of the South. The South was able to produce 7/8 of the world s supply of
cotton. This increased the South’s dependence on the plantation system and
its vital component, slavery. But by then, the North was prospering
industrially. It feared that the South s slave-based economy might affect their
economy. The North depended on factories and other industrialized
businesses. For this reason many of the new immigrants settled north, while
very few settled south. This allowed the North to grow industrially, while
making the South more hostile towards them. The Confederacy resisted any
kind of industrialization and manufactured as little as possible. Southern
economy opposed high taxes, as manufacturing was limited. But the Northern
states welcomed high taxes to protect its products from cheap foreign
competition. As a result, the South preferred not to accept most
improvements that were made by the federal government, such as roads and
canals, in order to keep taxes low. Another major problem that occurred was
the competition between the North and South for more land. Both regions
wanted to expand socially and economically westwards. The South wanted
more agrarian states, while the North wanted to be able to expand
industrial-wise. Confederate states felt that more agrarian states would help
protect their economy and society in the future. The Union also felt that
expansion would help their future as an industrialized country. As competition
grew between the two sides, unrest grew with it, eventually resulting in the
Civil War. IV. Political Causes Politically, the States were not any more
united in their point of views. They each feared each other s political goals.
Expanding westwards did would not only help each side socially, and
economically, but also politically. More Slave states meant there would be
more Southerners will be involved in congress. But if there were more Free
States, there would be more northern representation in congress. This caused
continuous unrest between the two regions. Also, both the North and the
South had different views on how the government should operate. The south
wanted less government control, and more state freedom, while the North
welcomed the central power of a government. The South viewed the election
of Abraham Lincoln, as president, as a threat to slavery. After Abraham
Lincoln was elected president in 1860, the South threatened to secede from
the United States that questioned State Rights. Were States allowed to
secede from the nation or not? To make matters worse, the South was
determined to start its own nation, by electing its own president, Thomas
Jefferson. It started calling for International recognition as a nation from
France and Britain. The South was persistent in becoming a separate country,
but the North was not about to give up the South. V. Aftermath Eventually,
the Civil War erupted. After four long years, the Union would win the War
and the country would once again become united. There were many reasons
why the North was able to overcome the South. Since Southern economy
was agrarian, and they had very few factories, the value of manufactured
goods was higher than crops by the start of the War. This made the North
wealthier, helping it to produce ammunition and other warfare utilities. The
South was poorer, do to the lack of money since cotton was no longer
providing the income and had only a few sources for manufacturing goods.
As a result they were always unequipped and could not keep up. The North
had the ability to invent modern weapons while the South had to fight with
older weapons. The North always had more people compared to the South
who had fewer people. At war, the casualty rates were always equal, but the
South suffered more because while the North could afford these loses, the
South could not. The Civil War lasted longer than it was expected to. But,
unfortunately, the War was inevitable due to the great gap between the North
and South socially, economically and politically. In fact, due to these
circumstances, if the South had won the War, the country would have
probably been divided into two separate countries. As any war would have
ended, the War ended with great losses to both sides. More Americans were
killed in the Civil War than in all other American wars combined from the
colonial period through the later phase of the Vietnam War. Apart from the
number of deaths and casualties, the great loss of property and money, the
country now needed to work together in order to rebuild what was lost.
Emotionally, it would take long years for many people to overcome the
consequences of the war. The war was followed by twelve years of
Reconstruction, during which the North and South debated the future of
black Americans and fought bitter political battles. Yet, there was a good
outcome of this war. Slavery came to an end as a legal institution. But the war
did not bring equal rights for blacks, they still had their own war to win until
those rights would be achieved. …but one of them would make war rather
than let the nation survive, and the other would accept war rather than let it
perish, and the war came. Abraham Lincoln, 4 March 1865 OUTLINE THE
CAUSES OF THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR I Introduction to Civil War
II Social Causes A Differences in society B Westward Expansion III
Economic Causes A Differences in economy B Westward Expansion IV
Political Causes A Government V Aftermath A Costs of War The Main
Causes of the American Civil War by Nadine Soliman Academic Writing
EWR3AA-01 Ms. Mack February 20, 2001 Works Cited American
Civil War. Encarta Online Encyclopedia[CD-ROM]. Microsoft
Corporation. 2000 ed. Fluhrer, Robert C. Civil War. World Book. 1996
ed. Hux, Allan and others. America: A History. Toronto: Globe/Modern
Curriculum Press, 1989. Stampp, Kenneth. The Causes of The Civil War.
New Jersey: Prentice-Hall Inc, 1965. CAUSES OF THE AMERICAN
CIVIL WAR I. Introduction to Civil War The American Civil War was a
war fough
and the South (Confederacy) starting from 1861 and ending in 1865. This
war was one of the most destructive events in American history, costing more
than 600,000 lives. It was thought to be one that helped shape the character
of the American individual today. From the Southern point of view, this war
was a War of Rebellion, or a War for Southern Independence. From the
Northern point of view this war was seen as a revolution. This unfortunate
war started as a result of many years of differences between the Union and
the Confederacy. It erupted after many years of conflict building up between
the two regions. Between the North and the South there lay deep economic,
social and political differences, but it is important to understand that Slavery
was the root of cause of these differences. II. Social Causes There were
many factors that contributed to the onset of the Civil War. Socially, the
North and the South were built on different standards. The South, or the
Slave States, was a slave-based community that followed a class-based
system. This system consisted of aristocracy, middle class and then slavery.
Many depended on slaves and were accustomed to this way of life, which
was hard to change. Plantation owners had slaves working for them, and
those who could not afford to own slaves would work on their own farm.
The North, or Free States, had more immigrants settling in its areas, where
labour was needed, but not the labour of slaves. Therefore it had a more
industrialized society where most people worked in factories, and did not
follow a class system. The Northerners opposed to Slavery as an institution in
the South, as the Confederate States were the only region in the world that
still legalized the ownership of slaves. This angered the Southerners and
threatened their way of life. The election of Abraham Lincoln, as president
was viewed by the South as a threat to slavery. III. Economic Causes By
time, economic differences also developed between the two regions. The
Southern states were agrarian states, and depended on agriculture rather than
industrialization. After the Cotton Gin was invented, it increased the need for
slaves and made cotton the chief crop of the South. The South was able to
produce 7/8 of the world s supply of cotton. This increased the South’s
dependence on the plantation system and its vital component, slavery. But by
then, the North was prospering industrially. It feared that the South s
slave-based economy might affect their economy. The North depended on
factories and other industrialized businesses. For this reason many of the new
immigrants settled north, while very few settled south. This allowed the North
to grow industrially, while making the South more hostile towards them. The
Confederacy resisted any kind of industrialization and manufactured as little
as possible. Southern economy opposed high taxes, as manufacturing was
limited. But the Northern states welcomed high taxes to protect its products
from cheap foreign competition. As a result, the South preferred not to
accept most improvements that were made by the federal government, such
as roads and canals, in order to keep taxes low. Another major problem that
occurred was the competition between the North and South for more land.
Both regions wanted to expand socially and economically westwards. The
South wanted more agrarian states, while the North wanted to be able to
expand industrial-wise. Confederate states felt that more agrarian states
would help protect their economy and society in the future. The Union also
felt that expansion would help their future as an industrialized country. As
competition grew between the two sides, unrest grew with it, eventually
resulting in the Civil War. IV. Political Causes Politically, the States were not
any more united in their point of views. They each feared each other s
political goals. Expanding westwards did would not only help each side
socially, and economically, but also politically. More Slave states meant there
would be more Southerners will be involved in congress. But if there were
more Free States, there would be more northern representation in congress.
This caused continuous unrest between the two regions. Also, both the North
and the South had different views on how the government should operate.
The south wanted less government control, and more state freedom, while the
North welcomed the central power of a government. The South viewed the
election of Abraham Lincoln, as president, as a threat to slavery. After
Abraham Lincoln was elected president in 1860, the South threatened to
secede from the United States that questioned State Rights. Were States
allowed to secede from the nation or not? To make matters worse, the South
was determined to start its own nation, by electing its own president, Thomas
Jefferson. It started calling for International recognition as a nation from
France and Britain. The South was persistent in becoming a separate country,
but the North was not about to give up the South. V. Aftermath Eventually,
the Civil War erupted. After four long years, the Union would win the War
and the country would once again become united. There were many reasons
why the North was able to overcome the South. Since Southern economy
was agrarian, and they had very few factories, the value of manufactured
goods was higher than crops by the start of the War. This made the North
wealthier, helping it to produce ammunition and other warfare utilities. The
South was poorer, do to the lack of money since cotton was no longer
providing the income and had only a few sources for manufacturing goods.
As a result they were always unequipped and could not keep up. The North
had the ability to invent modern weapons while the South had to fight with
older weapons. The North always had more people compared to the South
who had fewer people. At war, the casualty rates were always equal, but the
South suffered more because while the North could afford these loses, the
South could not. The Civil War lasted longer than it was expected to. But,
unfortunately, the War was inevitable due to the great gap between the North
and South socially, economically and politically. In fact, due to these
circumstances, if the South had won the War, the country would have
probably been divided into two separate countries. As any war would have
ended, the War ended with great losses to both sides. More Americans were
killed in the Civil War than in all other American wars combined from the
colonial period through the later phase of the Vietnam War. Apart from the
number of deaths and casualties, the great loss of property and money, the
country now needed to work together in order to rebuild what was lost.
Emotionally, it would take long years for many people to overcome the
consequences of the war. The war was followed by twelve years of
Reconstruction, during which the North and South debated the future of
black Americans and fought bitter political battles. Yet, there was a good
outcome of this war. Slavery came to an end as a legal institution. But the war
did not bring equal rights for blacks, they still had their own war to win until
those rights would be achieved. …but one of them would make war rather
than let the nation survive, and the other would accept war rather than let it
perish, and the war came. Abraham Lincoln, 4 March 1865 OUTLINE THE
CAUSES OF THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR I Introduction to Civil War
II Social Causes A Differences in society B Westward Expansion III
Economic Causes A Differences in economy B Westward Expansion IV
Political Causes A Government V Aftermath A Costs of War The Main
Causes of the American Civil War by Nadine Soliman Works Cited
American Civil War. Encarta Online Encyclopedia[CD-ROM]. Microsoft
Corporation. 2000 ed. Fluhrer, Robert C. Civil War. World Book. 1996
ed. Hux, Allan and others. America: A History. Toronto: Globe/Modern
Curriculum Press, 1989. Stampp, Kenneth. The Causes of The Civil War.
New Jersey: Prentice-Hall Inc, 1965.
Bibliography
American Civil War. Encarta Online Encyclopedia[CD-ROM]. Microsoft
Corporation. 2000 ed. Fluhrer, Robert C. Civil War. World Book. 1996
ed. Hux, Allan and others. America: A History. Toronto: Globe/Modern
Curriculum Press, 1989. Stampp, Kenneth. The Causes of The Civil War.
New Jersey: Prentice-Hall Inc, 1965.
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