The Cilvil War

After the Constitution was adopted by all of the states in 1789, uniting the states into one nation, differences between the states had been worked out through compromises. By 1861, these differences between the northern states and the southern states had been so great that compromise would no longer work, and therefore by 1861, the worldЎЇs greatest nation was locked in a civil war. When blame is sought for the cause of the civil war, slavery has always been at the forefront and is the most prominent reason, but is not the only reason. This war was inevitable and had numerous causes that led to it. This paper will discuss three important causes of the war, the Kansas-Nebraska Act, the issue of slavery and the Dred Scott decision. Each of these events created more tension between the north and the south and eventually war was unavoidable.

As the United States expanded westward, two new territories were carved out, which were Kansas and Nebraska. The Kansas-Nebraska Act was passed by the U.S. Congress on May 30, 1854 in which the two new territories would decide themselves whether or not to permit slavery. This angered north because it repealed the Missouri Compromise as both of these territories were above the latitude 36ЎЖ 30'. Since it was up to the people to decide the slavery issue, Northern abolitionists enticed anti-slavery supporters to move into the new regions and vote to make Kansas and Nebraska free states. Southern pro-slavery supporters did exactly as the North did to make Kansas and Nebraska slave states. The two sides clashed with one another over this issue and there was literally a civil war in Kansas.

In 1857, the Supreme Court of United States added to the mounting tension by its decision in the Dred Scott case. In this case, Dred Scott, a slave, sued for his freedom on the grounds that