Essay On The Cause Of The Civil War

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Divided There has been much debate on the idea of a singular cause of the Civil War. In fact, America can even be seen as split on the issue in a 2011 national survey taken by the Pew Research Center. Most Americans believe the war was either a direct result of slavery or the issue of state’s rights; however, it is clear the truth may lie somewhere in-between. The answer to the cause of the Civil War is mirrored by the country itself at this time—divided. The state’s rights issue was embedded in the issue of slavery; this, would lead our nation to war. In 1850, the Fugitive Slave Act would begin to strike conflict within both the North and South (The American Mosaic). This act would constitutionally require Northerners to return runaway slaves to their slave owners. Forcing the north to put aside an issue that most felt was unjust and/or immoral and participate in it immediately. While at first Southerners were very happy with this compromise, the reaction of the north would infuriate them. To the North, this compromise was infringing on their freedom. This scared the south because without the cooperation of the north they felt it was infringing on their…show more content…
Each side will fight for different reasons, and these two reasons would lead us to war. Daniel Hawthorne, a contemporary writer said, “We have gone to war, and we seem to have little, or at least, a very misty idea of what we are fighting for… The Southern man will say, we fight for states’ rights, liberty and independence. …whilst our Northern and Eastern man will swear that, from the beginning, his only idea was liberty to the blacks, and the annihilation of slavery”. It is impossible to build a Civil War upon a singular issue, and this is seen throughout events leading up to the war. The blood shed was not for slavery or states’ rights; it was for both, every man marched for a different

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