Civil War Causes

Paweł Trenda

Brian Stokes

HTY-121

August 18, 2016

Civil War causes

Slavery was known since the first shipment of Africans to the new world in the 1619. The main cog in this great machine named America was also a main reason why the people started to fight. The Civil War was basically about slavery, but one cannot take it as a one and only reason for starting this war. There are many aspect that clearly influenced constantly growing tension between South and North. The root cause of the American Civil War is perhaps the most controversial topic in American history. Even before the war was over, scholars in the North and South began to analyze and interpret the reasons behind the bloodshed. The scholars immediately disagreed over the causes of the war and disagreement persists today. Many maintain that the primary cause of the war was the Southern states’ desire to preserve the institution of slavery. Others minimize slavery and point to other factors, such as taxation or the principle of States' Rights.

The Southern and Northern areas of the United States maintained their own personal believes. Therefore, the North and South differed in many aspects. The North surely become more industrialized while the South stayed agriculture. On top of that they exported goods that were manufactured and later they imported those manufactured goods. Those two different economies strongly divided the regions. There was a clear line drawn which indicated different social classes as well. The Southern economy strongly depended on slavery as they only followed a plantation system. The Northern industries purchased those raw materials and turned them into finished goods. While South still was driven by slavery and society continued to hold onto an antiquated social beliefs and order, the Northern society evolved on the big scale due to the fact that people of all cultures and social classes had to work together in the industrialized environment. Therefore, this political issue was one of the cogs in the machine that started running towards an outbreak of the Civil War.

However, when one closely examines the events prior to the Civil War, he or she can notice that the real cause of the war is divided into few parts. First, the issue of slavery and its expansion—which built up over decades and accelerated in the period between 1846 and 1860—came to a head in the presidential election of 1860, causing the deep South states to secede when Abraham Lincoln’s election convinced them they had lost control of the national government and, therefore, of slavery’s fate within the Union. Second, Lincoln’s determination not to compromise on the issue of slavery’s expansion. Third, Lincoln’s dedication to resupply rather than abandon Fort Sumter, and the decision of Jefferson Davis’ administration to fire on federal troops at the South Carolina fort. The final catalyst, as opposed to the long-term cause, was the crisis over Fort Sumter.

One method by which to analyze this historical conflict is to focus on primary sources. Every state in the Confederacy issued an “Article of Secession” declaring their break from the Union. Four states went further. Texas, Mississippi, Georgia and South Carolina all issued additional documents, usually referred to as the “Declarations of Causes," which explain their decision to leave the Union. Two major themes emerge in these documents: slavery and states' rights. All four states strongly defend slavery while making varying claims related to states' rights. Other grievances, such as economic exploitation and the role of the military, receive limited attention in some of the documents. This article will present, in detail, everything that was said in the Declarations of Causes pertaining to these topics. The main reason why South and North were divided was slavery. However, arguments about states and federal laws and rights were also a part of dividing certain states. Therefore, two camps emerged, namely those who wanted to keep the control on the federal level and those who argued for the larger states rights. Later, when America started to expand on a large scale more and more questions of whether those states will be slave or free arose. Increasingly, the northerners became more polarized against