Civil War
Gabriela Ferreira-Lopes
APUSH Period 5
Ms. Stephenson
December 9, 2014
The Irrepressible Conflict The Civil War (1861-1865) was the most important mark in the American history. It defined the future of the United States, that by 1861 was a newly formed nation, still in development, and with a lot of issues. The Civil War killed more American people than all wars together. Its causes were many, and they accumulated to the point that something had to be done or the country would end up divided. For this purpose, we can say this war was a irrepressible conflict. The major motives leading to this conflict were economic and social differences between the North and the South, states versus federal rights, the fight between Slave and Non-Slave States, growth of the Abolition Movement, and the election of Abraham Lincoln.
With the invention of the cotton gin, producing cotton became easier and profitable, and soon the Southerners farmers adopted cotton crops. That also increased the demand for workers, which in the South meant more slaves. In the North, industries dominated, and it did not depend on slaves, but wage workers, even if this wage was almost nothing and the working conditions horrible. This development set up social and economical differences between the two regions.
Another problem, from the beginning, was the argument for state or federal control. The thirteen states were under the Articles of Confederation, but some people believed in a central government and some in state rights. The Articles weaknesses were fixed by the US Constitution, again, not supported by the ones that wanted states rights. This people created than the Nullification and basically decide if one act would be valid on the state. Eventually nullification did not work well and lead to secession.
Slavery is an issue again. Expansions were taking place like in the Louisiana Purchase and Mexican War, and the fight between North and South was if those new territories would be
APUSH Period 5
Ms. Stephenson
December 9, 2014
The Irrepressible Conflict The Civil War (1861-1865) was the most important mark in the American history. It defined the future of the United States, that by 1861 was a newly formed nation, still in development, and with a lot of issues. The Civil War killed more American people than all wars together. Its causes were many, and they accumulated to the point that something had to be done or the country would end up divided. For this purpose, we can say this war was a irrepressible conflict. The major motives leading to this conflict were economic and social differences between the North and the South, states versus federal rights, the fight between Slave and Non-Slave States, growth of the Abolition Movement, and the election of Abraham Lincoln.
With the invention of the cotton gin, producing cotton became easier and profitable, and soon the Southerners farmers adopted cotton crops. That also increased the demand for workers, which in the South meant more slaves. In the North, industries dominated, and it did not depend on slaves, but wage workers, even if this wage was almost nothing and the working conditions horrible. This development set up social and economical differences between the two regions.
Another problem, from the beginning, was the argument for state or federal control. The thirteen states were under the Articles of Confederation, but some people believed in a central government and some in state rights. The Articles weaknesses were fixed by the US Constitution, again, not supported by the ones that wanted states rights. This people created than the Nullification and basically decide if one act would be valid on the state. Eventually nullification did not work well and lead to secession.
Slavery is an issue again. Expansions were taking place like in the Louisiana Purchase and Mexican War, and the fight between North and South was if those new territories would be