Causes of the American Civil War

Alix Worrell

Ms. Kimberly Taft

His 131 2901

November 24, 2016

Causes of the American Civil War

The American Civil War was a war between the Union also known as the North and the Confederacy being the south. The war began in 1861 and ended in 1865. This war was one of the most brutal held in the United States; it took more than 600,000 lives. This war has many viewpoints based on those from the North and the South. The south would say this war was a rebellion; the north would see it as a revolution. The war was a product of built up frustration and disagreeances between the Confederacy and Union. The factors that caused the war included: economic, political, moral, differences but the most important factor being over slavery.

The way the North and South were total opposites. The South had "slave states" which were slave-based communities that ran on class systems. The classes systems consisted of an aristocracy, middle class, and the slaves. The majority of the South were slave owners and were dependent on these slaves to work on their land. The North, or the free states, on the other hand, had more immigrants that settled, they worked but not as slaves; they worked in factories where work was needed. The majority of Northerners were against slavery and wanted to see it abolished. The South was starting to feel threatened when President Abraham Lincoln was elected.

Economically there was tension as well. During this time the Cotton Gin was invented which increased the need for slavery since the demand for cotton was vast. The South at this period was supplying the majority of the world supply of cotton. The North at this time was booming industrially and started to fear the South's slave-based economy would affect theirs. Southern economy opposed high taxes whereas the Union had high taxes to protect against competition. Since the Confederacy was against high taxes, they opted to decline help from the government for roads and canals so the taxes would not rise.

Politically the Confederacy wanted to expand; more slave states would mean more seats in Congress, same for the free states. The North and South had very different views on the way the government should run. The Confederacy wanted the government to have less control whereas the Union wanted the government to have free reign over the country. When Abraham Lincoln was elected the South wanted to secede from the United States. This election drove the South to their breaking point; they went as far as to elect their own president; the North though did not want this secession to happen.