Preview

The Cause and Effect of the Civil War.

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1703 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Cause and Effect of the Civil War.
The Cause and Effect of the Civil War

Though slavery was a key cause of the Civil War, it was not the sole reason for it. To hold slavery as the sole reason for the Civil War is incorrect as there were numerous economic, political and moral reasons behind the strife. Sectionalism (between the Northern and Southern states), Economic (between the industrial North and agrarian South), and Political differences (such as the South's deeply held belief in states' rights) all contributed to the conflict between the states. Slavery was the crux of the dilemma, but to simplify the cause of the war the slavery would be a misstatement. Also slavery was a complex issue that encompasses many other issues within it, particularly that of state and federal rights. Even in contemporary society, one can see how the causes of the Civil War have not completely disappeared and still have relevance today.

The differences between the politics of the North and South were numerous and significant and could be seen as far back as the creation of the Constitution in 1787.The fundamental differences were economic, and would lead to sectionalism and separation between northern and southern interests. The southern states were dependent upon farming and raising a myriad of crops (primarily cotton and tobacco) in order to be economically sufficient. It was widely believed in 1808 that slavery would die an inevitable death, albeit slowly and perhaps incompletely. The importation of slaves was ceased, although the domestic slave trade continued to prosper. The invention of the cotton gin helped bolster the increased importation and retention of slaves, as this new device although more efficient than previous methods required additional manpower to operate. The South produced the vast majority of crops and raw materials which were either being sent to the north for manufacture or industrial processing (cotton being utilized by the textile industry, for example) or shipped to England for a bill of

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Slavery was the underlying cause of the American Civil War. With two strong believes there was nothing that could change the mind of the south, so the two groups were leaded to solve it in the battle field. Slavery a very important issue that cause a lot of damage in order to get a good solution. First in the 1850s it banished the Whig party and destroying the two national party system and later on in the 1860s it caused the biggest war that the United States has gone through. The union was divided in two groups of people the ones that were trying to abolish slavery were the ones that were loyal to the union and the ones that were against the Union the ones that create a confederacy.…

    • 267 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Slavery was amongst the main reasons the civil war broke out. Both slaves and free black men played an influential role in the civil war. Most of the blacks who actually fought in combat were fighting for the Union. The blacks that “fought” for the confederacy did not actually go into full-fledged combat. Instead they did chores and other things that helped confederate soldiers.…

    • 1291 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Many conflicts contributed to the Civil war, but the most famous and well known one was slavery which happened around in the mid 1800s. The conflict consisted of the Northern and southern states. Each side had their own view on slavery as south used it heavily for their economic structure while North barely used it. In conclusion both had different views on whether the expand or stop slavery growth growth or to have slavery at all.…

    • 762 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Slavery was a major cause for the civil war, whether it was recognized at the beginning as a central cause or not. “Two nations- The United States of America (shorn of seven states in the Deep South) and the Confederate States of America- each blamed the other for the breakup of the Union” (16.1). At the split of the Union and the secession of Confederate states, the war broke out. At the beginning it was considered that “This was not yet a war for or by black people” (16.1.1). But to consider what the Confederates stood for and believed it is hard to ignore the fact that slavery was a central cause from the beginning.…

    • 342 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    I had originally thought that the main cause of the Civil War was slavery; however, after my research I now believe the true cause of the Civil War is much more complex. I mostly agree with agree with Holt and his theory that the political crisis caused the Civil War. While reading Holt’s essay I became convinced that slavery alone couldn’t have caused the Civil War because the tension over slavery had existed for so long before the Civil War. It was the destruction of the previous two party system that left the South feeling politically stranded which lead to the Civil War. This viewpoint was supported by my research on Jefferson Davis for the meeting of the minds. Davis felt that the South was losing faith in the political system because…

    • 207 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    There were many reasons for the Civil War. As an example, most people feel as if the Civil War was about slavery, although recently we have found that it was actually about federal and state rights. Slavery was a small but effective role in the Civil War. The southern half of the United States were “slave states” as the north were “free states”, there were always an equal amount of slave and free states. The south and north had very different views and constantly got into disagreements with each other.…

    • 608 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Some historians argue that slavery was the primary cause of the American Civil War. As Robert E. Lee said, “In this enlightened age, there are few I believe, but what will acknowledge, that slavery as an institution is a moral and political evil in any country. It is useless to expatiate on its disadvantages.” I believe the statement that slavery was the primary cause of the American Civil War is true, because slavery was very controversial and became the symbol of disunion.…

    • 446 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Civil War Origins and Legacy

    • 2553 Words
    • 11 Pages

    The origins of the Civil War can be found at the time of Thomas Jefferson when he wrote in the Declaration of Independence, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Although Jefferson wouldn't know that this would start a war a hundred years after he wrote them, they were used in debates by both supporters and combatants of slavery. However, slavery was only a part of the reason that the Civil War happened. Other factors such as economic differences between the northern and southern states, government influence and population also contributed to the beginning of the war. The war did not break out until all these things broke the southerners back and they decided to…

    • 2553 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Finally, the Civil War was caused by slavery as it was a main issue both sides were fighting for. It was not inevitable it eventually was going to happen both sides just…

    • 241 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The subject of slavery was not the initial cause of the Civil War, but played a major role in how the war played out. The war was started when six southern states seceded all at once, and Confederate soldiers…

    • 227 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Before the beginning of the Civil War, Americans tried to resolve slavery by drawing or erasing a geographical line to limit or expand the growth of slavery. These lines were not very affective and changed much too often. It begins with the Northwest Ordinance in 1787 and ends with the Crittendon Compromise in 1861. The Northwestern Ordinance (1787) was the biggest success under the Articles of Confederation.…

    • 638 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Civil War Over Slavery

    • 94 Words
    • 1 Page

    I agree that the Civil War was fought over slavery. While I do think there were other contributing factors it seems like slavery was the main issue between the North and the South. The South was upset about Abraham Lincoln’s election and the fact that the Republican Party was against the expansion of slavery into new territories. The possibility of the end of slavery was a threat to the South who had an agriculturally based economy that relied on the use of slave labor, if slavery were to end then their economy would…

    • 94 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    If asked, most people would blame as the cause of the civil war the issue of slavery. This is understandable; many people in the U.S. at the time were against slavery, going to far as to help runaway slaves escape to the free north. But, while slavery at face value was a major factor, international politics and economics played a major role. Several factors, including the election of Lincoln, the raid on Harper 's Ferry, the Dred Scott decision, and, most importantly, the fugitive slave law, contributed to the growing rift between the North and South and, eventually, the Civil War.…

    • 888 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Civil War was the bloodiest war in all of America's history.But some things still remains a mystery in the Civil War.There were many reasons to how the Civil War was cause.A lot of people thinks that slavery was the cause,but it is only one of the many causes.Slavery, Economy, and State's Rights were the main cause to the Civil War.The slavery brought tensions,many differences in economy,and fighting for a cause.Tensions rose as Republicans and Democrats fight for a solution in slavery,the North and South many differences in their economy,and reasons to fighting in the Civil War.The Civil War was fought for slavery, economy, and State's Rights.…

    • 678 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The most significant cause of the American Civil War was the inauguration of Abraham Lincoln. Because of Abraham Lincoln’s views on slavery, the emancipation proclamation, and the formation of different parties, the Civil War began. With Lincoln’s views opposed to slavery, it caused a lot of disagreement with some of the states. Abe believed that blacks should have equal rights, and that they should be treated the same as everyone else. He tried to stop the spreading of slavery and to try to put an end to it all together. He released a document called the Emancipation Proclamation. In it, he gives several million slaves freedom. He aims the document towards the south. It did…

    • 294 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays