Greed Caused the American Civil War

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Of the seven deadly sins, the one that has plagued the United States the most throughout its history is greed.. Greed -- i.e., "the excessive desire to possess wealth or goods with the intention of keeping it for oneself." – can be seen in 1614, when Thomas Hunt sailed to Spain from his expedition in America with a ship packed with Patuxet Indians, bound to be sold into slavery. It can also be seen in 1773 as a major factor of the Boston Tea Party, where King George III was yearning for more control over colonial governments and hungry for the revenue from it. Greed can also be seen in 1830 during the Indian removal act, where President Andrew Jackson (backed by many other white Americans) signed a law that forced the five civilized tribes (Creek, Choctaw, Cherokee, Seminole, and Chickasaw) off of their land and dragged to different territories in Oklahoma. In each of those instances, greed served as the ultimate cause of behavior. Despite the many factors that played a significant role in the American Civil War, greed once again served as the catalyst and ultimate cause of the American Civil War. While anti-slavery movements, the idea of states' rights and the vision of "one union" each represented powerful arguments (or justifications for plunging the United States into civil war), the ultimate cause stemmed from fundamental differences between the "North and South" over control of economic power – i.e., modes of production, property, and money.

The South argued that protecting the integrity of “States’ Rights” served as the primary justification for the Civil War. However, the idea of states rights is rooted in greed – in the effort to maintain or grow economic power. “States Rights” is defined as rights...

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...otal factor that drove North and South to the Civil War. Even to this day, greed continues to plague Americans and it can be witnessed in many instances. For example the AIG bailout, which displays the problems that arise from greed for money (and in the bankers’ cases, power as well) in America. Or some Americans’ objection to Mexican immigration due to the argument that they are ‘taking our jobs’, which is very similar to those who were anti-slavery in the North. In the end, Money – or the accumulation of material wealth – must never trump our sense of humanity. Greed – whether in the form of economic power of a nation, profit for a corporation, or lifestyles of the rich and famous – should never take precedence over our core spiritual values. The Declaration of Independence reflected this in part: “All men are created equal…” All human beings are created equal.

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