Causes of The Civil War
One of the
main causes of the Civil War was the economic and political differences between
the North and the South. The North was mainly industrial, while the South was agrarian.
The North was more suited to large factories, while the South was suited to large
plantations. The Southern farmers thought that this meant they had the right to
bring in more slaves for their plantations, and since the Southern economy was slave-based,
it was one more thing that they could not resolve. "Southerners thought that
their way of life was just right for them" (Arnold, Wiener, 7). The economic
and political differences affected the Civil War greatly, and it helped shape the
war.
Another cause was past history. When Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, he wrote that the King thought that slavery was good, so it should be abolished. The Southerners said that he had to change the declaration, or they would not sign it. This made the Southerners angry, and they protested that it was a way of life for them. The Southern economy was based on slavery, and it would collapse if they freed the slaves. "In the town squares, there were auction blocks where black people were bought and sold like cattle"(Ray, 24). Some old hurts that were a long time ago, would still come back and help start the war.
The North and South also had very different political parties. The South was the Democratic Party, and the North was the Republican Party. The North wanted a country run by a president, like Abraham Lincoln, with a strong federal government. The South wanted a democracy, where the states were loosely tied together, and that they could make their own decisions, and to be able to rule freely, or through elected representatives. "If the Republican party with its platform of principles, the main feature of which is the abolition of slavery and, therefore, the destruction of the South, carries the country at the next Presidential election, shall we remain in the Union, or form a separate Confederacy?"(Aldrich). The two parties helped incite the war by pushing each other to the breaking point.
Overall, the subject of slavery was the thing that the two sides could not resolve. It was the main cause of the Civil War, and when the North won the war, slavery was finally abolished. These all incited the battle of Fort Sumter, which was based on the South breaking away from the Union.
Another cause was past history. When Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, he wrote that the King thought that slavery was good, so it should be abolished. The Southerners said that he had to change the declaration, or they would not sign it. This made the Southerners angry, and they protested that it was a way of life for them. The Southern economy was based on slavery, and it would collapse if they freed the slaves. "In the town squares, there were auction blocks where black people were bought and sold like cattle"(Ray, 24). Some old hurts that were a long time ago, would still come back and help start the war.
The North and South also had very different political parties. The South was the Democratic Party, and the North was the Republican Party. The North wanted a country run by a president, like Abraham Lincoln, with a strong federal government. The South wanted a democracy, where the states were loosely tied together, and that they could make their own decisions, and to be able to rule freely, or through elected representatives. "If the Republican party with its platform of principles, the main feature of which is the abolition of slavery and, therefore, the destruction of the South, carries the country at the next Presidential election, shall we remain in the Union, or form a separate Confederacy?"(Aldrich). The two parties helped incite the war by pushing each other to the breaking point.
Overall, the subject of slavery was the thing that the two sides could not resolve. It was the main cause of the Civil War, and when the North won the war, slavery was finally abolished. These all incited the battle of Fort Sumter, which was based on the South breaking away from the Union.