Assess the factors that led to the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861 The main factor that caused the American Civil War in 1861 was slavery as it was the underlying fundamental division between Northern and Southern societies that made living in harmony impossible. However, we must also examine the economic disparity between the North and South, political failure to manage the situation and the impact of the election of Lincoln in 1860. Although slavery is the underlying reason, the civil war would not have happened if it were not for the financial divide that developed because of slavery. These core factors were exacerbated by political mismanagement, a catalyst for the outbreak of the Civil War and Lincoln’s election in 1860, the trigger factor. Despite this, had it not been for slavery, there would have been no initial divide between North and South which created economic disparity and led to Southern paranoia over Northern expansionism which led to war, thus the most important factor.
Years of frustration is what caused the eventual succession. Since the American Revolution, the topic of slavery was present in the minds of important men in both northern and southern states. The institution of slavery was allowed to continue in the United States, but it was when the Union started to expand that much of the frustration began. The government had passed regulations banning the spread of slavery into these new territories, and many southern states were outraged to the point where South Carolina threatened to succeed from the Union in 1821. Southern states believed that their way of life was being infringed, meaning that slavery was an important institution for their mainly agricultural based economy.
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.
I believe that the Civil War began with the debate over the future of slavery. That very issue led to secession, and secession caused a war where the Northern states fought for the ground of the Union, and the South for their independence as a new confederation of states under its own constitution. It seems to me that any disagreement leads to some form of resentment. We tend to not like what we don’t understand, and it was hard for the North to understand why the Southern states were itching for freedom from them. It seems from a broader point of view that the North has gone through so much just for the Southern states of America to exist.
Although Thoreau was not the first to introduce these ideas, he may have been the first to bring it to the attention of many Americans. They both effectively illustrate their philosophy that civil disobedience is a necessity. As I said before, Thoreau was writing during the transcendentalism era in America during the mid 1800s. The main issue behind “Civil Disobedience” is slavery that is taking place in America. By this time, slavery is a very hotly debated issue in America, even eventually leading to the Civil War.
The Civil War is a vast and rich topic that was often shortened. Those shortcuts conducted to a miscomprehension of the events and a lack of information. The South vs. The South analyze and explain the political, economical and moral context that drove Southerners to war and it development. The author argues that this context and the fact that many southerners were against the Secession.
Within the book there were many reasons that explained why the nation failed to end slavery but the main reason being the fear that Georgia and South Carolina’s would refuse to join the union if they were forced to abolish it. This fear caused the road blocked that forced this topic to be set aside during the Constitutional convention in 1787 and all others failure with half enforced laws years afterwards. The fear of losing both Georgia and South Carolina was a challenge the young America was not prepared to handle, there are many historical records that support this theory. Reading through this book I
In the early years of the republic, there were various controversial issues that divided the American people. The ratification of the Constitution split people up into Federalist and Anti-Federalist groups, which were those who wanted the Constitution to be ratified, and those that didn’t. Before the Louisiana Purchase, people were also split on whether or not the purchase was going to be worth it in the long run. When the issue of expansion of slavery into the territories was brought up, Southern-extremest and Northern-soilers could never seem to come to an agreement. Before the Constitution, there were the Articles of Confederation.
What Lead to the Civil War. From the beginning of the United States, war was inevitable between the North and the South, over the issues of slavery. Ever since Eli Whitney’s invention of the cotton gins in 1790, the South has been on a completely different economic path from the North. In the 1850’s political developments, the Fugitive slave act, the Dread Scott decision, and the John Brown raid, eventually all drove the regions further and further apart. Even though the North and South tried to reconcile their differences on the issue of slavery by implementing compromises in the 1820’s and 1850’s, both attempts failed, leading up to the Civil War.
There was a lot of pressure between the north and south. Just like any other large group of people, of course there were some disagreements, which is probably why the whole thing escalated the way it did. What one liked the other did not, for example, the confederate states (South) wanted to keep slavery around because it was very important to them and the union (North) did not find the need to keep it around. The emancipation of slaves depended on who won the war or not which caused more problems than expected. President Lincoln, just by going off of the fact that he asked the soldiers to only sign up for three months shows that he did not expect the war to last as long as it did.