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.
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.
Southern states believed that their way of life was being infringed, meaning that slavery was an important institution for their mainly agricultural based economy. The infringement of their way of life was what really caused the succession of the Confederate states and the Civil War. It has been said that the Civil War is the second American Revolution. In many ways, this statement is accurate. The American Revolution was fought because colonists felt the tyrannical government of Great Britain was abusing their authority, and directly affecting their way of life and happiness.
The northern states where anti slavery and the southern states were pro slavery. Because the south’s economic structure needed slaves for plantations and the north was more industrialized. slavery was frowned upon in the north .and in the south slavery was veiwed as a way of life .. As America expanded over time the two sides fought for power. Each side had their own beliefs about t slavery but no one could come to a compromise. Before the civil war abolitionists and activist in politics such as William Steward tries to expand the abolishing of slavery by saying s “the country is a theater that
There were four basic issues that caused the Civil War in America; these issues included social and economic differences between the North and the South, states’ rights versus the federal government, the fight between supporters of slavery and abolitionists, and the growth of the abolition movement. Social and economic aspects were monumental in causing the Civil War. In Document E peaceable secession is discussed by Daniel Webster. Due to the social disagreements between the North and the South, secession became a major issue. The social aspects that caused the Civil War were that the North progressed towards being concentrated on urban life and the South was absorbed in the plantation structure of society.
In the second part of the book (47), Freehling explicate the role of the white southerners who were against the Confederation and their role in the Secession Crisis. At that time, Southerners were divided; the Middle South and the Border peoples weren’t so predisposed to Secede. He also explains the event of Fort Sumter in South Carolina (symbolic place of the Independence) which set off the Civil War in April 1861. In the third part of his analyze (83), the author make a point on the role of the Black southerners who opposed the Confederacy and sides White
The United States changed dramatically in a very short time after the Revolution, the transition was not an easy one, militarily, politically, and culturally. Socially, the new emphasis on egalitarianism and individual rights changed the relationship and roles. America’s call for freedom from British oppression while still being a slave society was undeniably ironic, yet, the Revolutionary movement initiated serious consideration of the issue of slavery. Both Americans and the British made various arguments concerning the irony. As slave-owning and slave trading were accepted routines of colonial life, slavery would play a central part in the language of the revolution.
By this time, slavery is a very hotly debated issue in America, even eventually leading to the Civil War. Thoreau obviously takes the position against slavery and tries to use his writing to try and convince the citizens of America to stand up against slavery and the laws that protect it. Thoreau often writes of the injustice that the government displays towards its people. For example, Thoreau writes, “Why does it not encourage its citizens to be on the alert to point out its faults, and do better than it would have them?” (184). Thoreau’s purpose is to convince the citizens of America to not follow the majority, but do what is felt to be morally right.
The American Civil War was fought over a few reasons, but slavery is thought to be the major reason for the war and even today, slavery is "front and center" as the reason for the war. Ultimately, the American Civil War was the result of economic, social, and political differences between the Northern States and the Southern States. The Southern economy was driven by the growth of cotton, which needed a huge amount of work force, in this case slaves. Some of the Northern states had abolished slavery, others agreed on the gradual emancipation after the American Revolutionary War, and their economy was industrial based. There was a dispute between free-states and slave states over the new territory, California, though the issue was temporally fixed with the Compromise of 1850.
The issues surrounding slavery were many. Each side had a different view on slavery and each side’s view had issues relevant to each side’s society. The view of the anti-slavery crowd was that it was a matter of human rights and to help further the middle class of the US. Whereas the pro-slavery people said it was an issue of states rights because at this time each state was still sovereign of the federal government and the slavery could be used to sustain and to further the progress of the US. The largest part of pro-slavery and anti-slavery arguments was political.