Cause And Effect Essay: The American Civil War

Cause-and-Effect Essay final draft

The American Civil War

Everyone wants independence and freedom to do what they want. Kids want freedom from their parents to do what they want. When I was younger, I wanted to play computer games whenever I wanted. When I wanted to play computer games, my mom wanted me to study or do my homework. Freedom to do what people wanted to do is what caused the American Civil war only on a much larger scale; the whole south wanted to own and use slaves.

The Southern states economic activity relied mainly on growing cotton and other products on plantations. To produce these products, the majority of southerners used slaves. The Northern states relied more on manufacturing and subsistence farming rather than the plantations that the south relied on. The northern states had no use for slaves and viewed slavery unjust and cruel. As the south relied on slaves to keep their economy alive they saw no problem with having slaves. The northern states and major political leaders wanted to stop slavery from spreading and so the government passed a law that slavery was allowed
only in states and territories in which it already existed. Both the north and the south believed that if slavery was contained, or stopped from spreading, it would eventually become extinct. The south felt that this law was an infringement on the state’s rights. The southerners wanted to do own slaves but the government didn’t allow them to.

Since the southerners feared that slavery would become extinct, they decided to leave the Union and form the Confederate states of America to keep slavery alive.
The northern states and the key political leaders at the time, such as Abraham Lincoln, wanted the Union to be preserved. In Lincoln’s inaugural address, he said, “I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the States where it exists. I believe I have no lawful right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so.” He also said, “It follows from these views that no State upon its own mere motion can lawfully get out of the Union; that Resolves and Ordinances to that effect are legally void; and that acts of violence, within any State or States, against the authority of the United States, are insurrectionary or revolutionary, according to
circumstances.”

The south was determined to have their freedom and was willing to fight for it. Eleven southern states tried to leave the union form the Confederate states of America. Confederate troops attacked a Union military base at Fort Sumter; this started the American civil war.

The north had more than two times the man power of the south, and also more industrial areas in which they could produce weapons and other products needed for war. The south had many good leaders, superior cavalry, and determination to defend their homes and freedoms. But their lack of manpower and factories caused them to lose the war. The American civil war was started because the north and the south had different views on an issue. The south wanted to “play computer games” and the north wanted them to do their homework. The south refused to do their homework, so it started a war. When I was younger my mom always won and I did my homework, the same thing happened here. The North won the war and the south did their homework.