How Did The Civil War Affect The Economy
In the years leading up to the Civil War, the United States began to undergo significant changes, changes that would eventually lead to the secession of southern states, creation of the confederacy and the beginning of the Civil War. During these years, the nation was in the midst of a transformation from an underdeveloped nation of farmers and frontiersmen into an urbanized economic powerhouse. As the industrialized North and the agricultural South grew apart, acute differences in political, economic and social views proved to further divide an already divided nation. Though both political and social views had significant roles in bringing about of the Civil War, I believe that economic issues proved to be the major factor in the foundation
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of the Civil War. In the years before the Civil War, the economic interests of Americans in the North and Northwest grew increasingly further from those of Americans in the South and Southwest.
Although the Civil War itself was caused by a number of different factors, the divergent paths taken in the economic development of the North and the South contributed to the animosity between the regions, the development of the Confederacy and, ultimately, the victory of the Union. As a nation, the United States was primarily agricultural in the years before, during and immediately after the Civil War. About three-quarters of the population lived in rural areas, including farms and small towns. Nevertheless, the Industrial Revolution that had hit England decades before gradually established itself in northern states. While factories were built all over the North and South, the vast majority of industrial manufacturing was taking place in the North. The South had almost 25 percent of the country's free population, but only 10 percent of the country's capital in 1860. The North had five times the number of factories as the South, over ten times the number of factory workers, the North also accounted for 90 percent of the nation's skilled workers. Tariffs created to protect northern industries began to take effect, causing southern product taxes to rise; this caused deep animosity between
regions. Throughout the 1850s political tension between the South and the North began to increase. The proximate cause of the South's secession was the election of Abraham Lincoln with a Republican majority in 1860. However, Abraham Lincolns’ name was not even included on the presidential ballot in any states that eventually seceded. Major political struggles during the antebellum period focused on states’ rights. Southern states were dominated by the idea that individual states should have the final say in matters of interpreting the Constitution. Issues, such as The Fugitive Slave Act, which was passed as part of the Compromise of 1850. This act forced any federal official who did not arrest a runaway slave liable to pay a fine. This was the most controversial part of the Compromise of 1850 and caused many abolitionists to increase their efforts against slavery. Social factors such as anti-slavery and abolitionist movements had extremely significant roles in the foundation of the Civil War. In the years leading up to the war, northerners did not necessarily want social and political equality for African Americans; they sought merely their emancipation. Because abolitionist tended to be more radical in their beliefs, many people either turned against the idea of abolishment all-together or shifted their views to a much more conservative way of thinking, such as the anti-slavery movement. While abolitionist fought for an immediate end of slavery across the United States, the anti-slavery movement worked toward a gradual, yet organized termination of slavery. As time went on, more and more northerners began to realize the horrors and injustices of slavery. With the help of abolitionist across the Union, many people found new sympathy for the enslaved African-Americans of the south. With the emotional investment rising in the Union, the resolve to fight for the end of slavery increased. In my opinion, economic issues played the biggest factor in the cause of the Civil War.
of the Civil War. In the years before the Civil War, the economic interests of Americans in the North and Northwest grew increasingly further from those of Americans in the South and Southwest.
Although the Civil War itself was caused by a number of different factors, the divergent paths taken in the economic development of the North and the South contributed to the animosity between the regions, the development of the Confederacy and, ultimately, the victory of the Union. As a nation, the United States was primarily agricultural in the years before, during and immediately after the Civil War. About three-quarters of the population lived in rural areas, including farms and small towns. Nevertheless, the Industrial Revolution that had hit England decades before gradually established itself in northern states. While factories were built all over the North and South, the vast majority of industrial manufacturing was taking place in the North. The South had almost 25 percent of the country's free population, but only 10 percent of the country's capital in 1860. The North had five times the number of factories as the South, over ten times the number of factory workers, the North also accounted for 90 percent of the nation's skilled workers. Tariffs created to protect northern industries began to take effect, causing southern product taxes to rise; this caused deep animosity between
regions. Throughout the 1850s political tension between the South and the North began to increase. The proximate cause of the South's secession was the election of Abraham Lincoln with a Republican majority in 1860. However, Abraham Lincolns’ name was not even included on the presidential ballot in any states that eventually seceded. Major political struggles during the antebellum period focused on states’ rights. Southern states were dominated by the idea that individual states should have the final say in matters of interpreting the Constitution. Issues, such as The Fugitive Slave Act, which was passed as part of the Compromise of 1850. This act forced any federal official who did not arrest a runaway slave liable to pay a fine. This was the most controversial part of the Compromise of 1850 and caused many abolitionists to increase their efforts against slavery. Social factors such as anti-slavery and abolitionist movements had extremely significant roles in the foundation of the Civil War. In the years leading up to the war, northerners did not necessarily want social and political equality for African Americans; they sought merely their emancipation. Because abolitionist tended to be more radical in their beliefs, many people either turned against the idea of abolishment all-together or shifted their views to a much more conservative way of thinking, such as the anti-slavery movement. While abolitionist fought for an immediate end of slavery across the United States, the anti-slavery movement worked toward a gradual, yet organized termination of slavery. As time went on, more and more northerners began to realize the horrors and injustices of slavery. With the help of abolitionist across the Union, many people found new sympathy for the enslaved African-Americans of the south. With the emotional investment rising in the Union, the resolve to fight for the end of slavery increased. In my opinion, economic issues played the biggest factor in the cause of the Civil War.