Explanation of Why the Civil War Started

Kevin Fenner

Explanations for Why the Civil War Started
All though the most deadly war in American history is thought to have been fought over slavery, the great Civil War was really a conflict of many differences. The North and South had many differences not only with slavery, but voting equality, different economic resources, and their own ideals on the powers of the federal government. The economy was by far the biggest issue that caused the union to break apart, but moral issues certainly had a large impact on the beliefs of northerners and slavery. These differences came to a head when abolitionist president Abraham Lincoln was elected into office. The culmination of these three differences instigated the beginning of the Civil War.
With the invention of the cotton gin by Eli Whitney, farmers could now sell as much cotton as they could produce. The southern states became the world leader in the exporting of cotton. Although the cotton gin made the production of usable cotton much easier, in effect it created a one crop economy. Before the Civil War the south had only one predominant industry and that was agriculture; an entire economy riding on the success of one crop. I find the disparity from the north interesting, considering the northern textile factories were buying the majority of the cotton. With manifest destiny in full effect, Americans were moving westward in pursuit of their own land and the American Dream. As states began to join the union, some wanted slavery and others did not. Many of the northerners feared a growing slavery population and the ever-growing distaste of the life slaves were forced to live. Regardless, all of the states recognized the importance of whether a state was free or slave, and the impact it would have on legislation. Westward expansion had to be halted until congress could figure out what to do with slaves and voting representation. The Missouri Compromise composed by Henry Clay was simply a brief solution to solving the representation problem in Congress. Tensions were so high that Missourians came over to Kansas that ended up giving Kansas the name “Bleeding Kansas”. People were willing to fight for Kansas to go Free or Slavery, which is how passionate Americans were about the issue of newly added states. The third reason behind the causes of the Civil War in my mind was the Election of Abraham Lincoln. Not to say things weren’t already coming to a head between the north and the south, the election was a turning point. Days after being elected president, South Carolina succeeded from the union. By the time President Lincoln was sworn into office, seven other states had succeeded. The southern states knew that Lincoln was a major player in the abolitionist movement. Once the states realized the north was in control of Washington D.C. they abandoned the union to form the Confederate States of America. A combination of economic variances, a growing moral concern from the northerners, and the final blow of an anti-slavery president caused the Civil War. The southern economy that was exclusively based on the production of a single crop caused the southerners to viscously fight for slavery. As Americans began to expand westward in their manifest destiny, people on conflicting sides began to worry if their opinion would be the majority in congress if new states joined the opposing side. The final straw came when the nation as a whole elected a president who was unwavering and committed to the abolition of slavery; the southern states were at the breaking point.