The Civil War was, by far, one of the bloodiest events in American history. Such an event devastated the nation, yet it did not happen on its own accord. A country divided politically, socially, economically, and geographically, each unfolding event drove America toward the brink of the Civil War. Prior to the war – the 1800s – many issues over politics, status of slaves, and the economy plagued the country. The North and South were divided upon these issues and continued to drift further apart with every compromise, movement, and legal decision, increasing violence and hostility on both sides. Although there existed many causes of the Civil War, in the end, the two most important causes of the Civil War were political and social.
Political events including the Dred Scott Decision and the States’ Rights Doctrine before the Civil War increased tensions between the North and South. These conflicts resulted from contrasting ideas about slavery, states’ rights, and political parties: the North was mostly Republican, opposed slavery, and preferred a unified nation under the federal law, while the South was mostly Democratic, proslavery, and supported greater rights and power for states. According to Chief Justice Roger B. Taney, the Supreme Justice during this time, “the Act of Congress which prohibited a citizen from holding and owning property of this kind [slaves] in the territory of the United States north of the line therein mentioned is not warranted by the Constitution, and is therefore void” (Dred Scott v. Sandford). Since the ban of slavery in the northern part of the western territory was deemed unconstitutional and lifted by the Dred Scott Decision, an attempt to settle the issue of slavery, the North f...
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...nists and southerners alike, disliked this document – the prior felt it was unfair to the slaves and the civilians while the latter felt the act was not enough to protect slavery. The issue of slavery was still far from resolved, growing worse in intensity and existing in all social classes, even when the Fugitive Slave Act was repealed and a new compromise was made. By the time of the Civil War, a person’s position on slavery mostly determined which part of society he belonged to – the North or the South.
Political and social causes launched the Civil War as the most significant causes of the war. Representing the conflicting opinions of the people, government decisions and social movements/ideas clashed. Problem after problem accumulated until violence ruptured. With no other option to resolve the conflicts, for America, the Civil War was inescapable.
The loose interpretation of the Constitution by Chief Justice Marshall had greatly infuriated and scared the Southerners because if the government could regulate interstate commerce, then it could one day regulate slavery; it's technically commerce. Therefore, states such as South Carolina passed the Negro Seamen Act, which was later struck down unconstitutional, greatly hit the issue of slavery. South Carolinians had great bases for their beliefs because of the recent Denmark Vesey uprising.
The decades leading up to the American Civil War showed a great divide in the economic, political, and regional attitudes between the North and South. These divisions still plague the country today. However, there is a divide on whether economic anxieties or political differences were the major factor in the run up to the Civil War.
In 1860 Abraham Lincoln was elected as president of the United States of America, the repercussions of which led to civil war. However it was not only Lincoln’s election that led to civil war but also the slavery debate between the northern and southern states and the state of the economy in the United States. Together with the election of Lincoln these caused a split, both politically and ideologically, between the North and South states which manifested into what is now refereed to as the American Civil War.
There were many problems, events, and situations that led to the Civil War. One of the major reasons for the outbreak of the war was sectionalism. Once the United States was split, many of the country's fundamental issues were disputed, with slavery being at the top of the list. Some of the other major issues in dispute were representation, tariffs, and states' rights. Sectionalism is defined as, the sharp socio-economic differences that divided the Northern and the Southern states in the U.S.
Constitutionally the North favored a loose interpretation of the United States Constitution, and they wanted to grant the federal government increased powers. The South wanted to reserve all undefined powers to the individual states themselves. The South relied upon slave labor for their economic well being, and the economy of the North was not reliant on such labor or in need of this type of service. This main issue overshadowed all others. Southerners compared slavery to the wage-slave system of the North, and believed their slaves received better care than the northern factory workers received from their employers. Many Southern preachers proclaimed that slavery was sanctioned in the Bible. Southern leaders had constantly tried to seek new areas into which slavery might be extended (Oates 349).
Even though geographic and economic disputes were considered important, mainly political and social differences gave birth to the Civil War. Unable to agree about the amount of rights a state deserved, the North and South fell further away from each other. This division increased as the Fugitive Slave Law was passed and when the final verdict of Dred Scott’s case was announced. Abolitionist attempts to end slavery continued to separate the splitting sides. All in all, the Civil War started out as political and social discords, but grew into a full-scale battle deciding the fate of our nation.
The main problem in every event leading up to the Civil War involved the issue of slavery, making slavery the main cause of the war. The initial blame for the war can be pointed at America’s founding fathers who knew slavery violated every aspect of America’s liberty, but yet they still did not prohibit slavery. If it was not the election of President Lincoln that caused South Carolina to secede from the Union, allowing other states to follow, a different event would have triggered the war, making the Civil War inevitable. All in all, the Civil War was bound to happen and it became the bloodiest war in American history.
Between the economic, political, and social quarrels that evolved throughout the 1850's, the North and the South underwent many changes that led to the start of the Civil War. The most attributing factor to this war was that of a moral dispute between two sections who both wanted different things. Slavery became the issue that spread across the nation and was disputed back and forth between the North and South sections of the country.
...om’s Cabin in 1852, the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, the Dred Scott Decision of 1857, John Brown’s raid on Harper’s Ferry in 1859, and the outcome of the Presidential Election of 1860—created conditions where Southerners felt the need to secede from the United States (they felt that their “way of life” was being threatened), as well as created conditions where the Northerners decided to go to war against the Southern Confederacy in order to maintain the Union. It is not surprising, however, that the Civil War occurred; since the Industrial Revolution, the Industrial North had always been different than the Agricultural South. If each region paid more attention to resolving the issues that separated them, instead of trying to prove themselves right, they could have stopped the bloodiest battle in American history (even though this is using hindsight knowledge).
The cause of the Civil War is difficult to diagnose entirely. Historian James G. Randall puts forward an agreeable argument that the Civil War stemmed from the divide between the secessionists and abolitionists. Both parties exaggerated the differences between the two sections and would lead the Union towards war. Randall claims that the North and South were fundamentally alike and slavery was not the fundamental cause of the war. These differences regarding the issue of slavery would be then exaggerated by the sections to create a background of distrust too great to overcome. The abolitionists, in particular, turned political differences over slavery to be settled by compromise. The inability to compromise would be driven by the rift
In the mind 19th century the United States of America encountered one of the deadliest wars to have ever been fought, known as the American Civil War. The Civil War was ignited after Abraham Lincoln became president of the United States in 1860. Although, slavery was credited to be the main reason behind the civil war, however cultural and political difference also contributed to the creation of the war. Tension had arose between northern and southern states on the topics; western expansion, state’s rights, and most importantly slavery.
One of the main factors I feel like contributed and as well as started the Civil War was the political, cultural, and economic issues that were going on at the time. I personally feel like the division of the North and South was one of the main factors to the beginning of the Civil War. There was multiple situations when Northern and Southern congressmen had tried to get on an equal playing field but that came to a stop fairly quick. Things like slavery and slave labor were also some huge factors that had developed over time that contributed and continued the civil war that was taking place at the time.
What was the root cause of the Civil War? First, what was the Civil War? The Civil War was a war between the North (Union) and the South (Confederacy), which started from 1861 through 1865. This war was the most deadliest, most destructive war in American history, taking away 600,000 lives. The northerners viewed this war as a revolution while the southerners viewed this war as a War of Rebellion or War for Southern Independence. Slavery was the root cause of the Civil War. Slavery also influenced many factors such as territorial expansion, economic tensions, and political alignments.
By April 1861 America was at a breaking point. Tensions had been rising for years and things had finally boiled over. Americans were at war with each other. What had caused this once united nation to become so bitterly divided? There had been many contributors leading up to the outbreak of the Civil War. Things like the Fugitive Slave Act had enraged Northerners and caused a deeper divide between states. The book Uncle Tom’s Cabin had fired up both the Fire-Eaters and the Abolitionists alike. Though many events lead to the outbreak of the Civil War, three stand out in particular. These events were the catalyst that lead to the explosion of the Civil War. The Kansas-Nebraska Act, the California Gold
The American civil war had an immense impact of negativity regarding the split of the United States due to the disagreement that split the United states in half. The main cause of the civil war was the difference between the north abolishing slavery and the south expanding slavery, which started this whole war. Another major cause that the civil war’s turn out was because of the 16th president Abraham Lincoln which instituted the law that abolished slavery. An addition cause of the Civil War was due to the south losing its money when the law of abolishing slavery would pass, due to all the south's companies being runned by slaves that do all the work without pay which profits the south. These were the main reasons why the American Civil War