Why Did The Civil War Began Essay

There are several things that play into why the Civil War started, although the overall burning issue was slavery. Many people argue that the Civil War started over states rights. But when you look at it the states rights were to abolish or protect slavery. This problem seemed to arise as the north became more industrialized and the south stayed predominately agricultural based. As the north began to look towards a city life people began to work together as one. In the south cotton had become a very popular crop therefor cheap labor was still needed. The social rankings were still very prominent. As this gap widened the needs and interests for each region changed. Conflict started over blinded politicians not being able to adapt to the growing necessitates. The ideals of the anti-slavery movement began with the publication of the novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin. This set the idea in a lot of peoples minds that slavery was an abusive thing. It had never really been looked at in a negative light before. The idea of abolishing slavery became a major issue and started getting a lot of attention. Groups began to form that were either pro-slavery or anti-slavery. Most of the north was
anti-slavery because as they began to industrialize, the need for slaves wasn't as great anymore. Most of the south was pro-slavery because they were still farming things and slaves were used for these tasks. As The Missouri Compromise took place the debate only grew. People from each side of the spectrum rushed to fill and occupy the new territories in hopes of influencing whether slavery was outlawed or not.

Exacerbating tensions is the fact the old Whig political party was burning out.
Most of the followers moved over to the American Party and joined with other who opposed slavery they formed a new party come to be known as the Republican Party. When Abraham Lincoln who was the republican candidate won the 1859 election, the southerns fears about slavery being abolished started to become real. The northern states were populating much faster than the southern states so it was much easier for him to be elected into office. Lincoln tried to calm fears by saying he wouldn't touch the matter. This wasn't enough reassurance though and it led to a secession convention in South Carolina. This convention led to the voting to dissolve the state’s contract with the United States and be on its
own.

One example that slavery was the main cause of the Civil War was Bleeding Kansas, also known as the border war. This was when Kansas was given the chance to be a free or slave state. Missouri’s citizens wanted Kansas to become a slave state, therefor the citizens of Missouri snuck into Kansas and voted slavery for Kansas. The Missourians then went around and slaughtered many that did not vote pro slavery, not stopping at killing women or children. The fight between free and slave states became such a hatred filled and hostile thing. When people began threatening to take away what makes you most of your money many will do unforgivable things.

With a constant hatred towards each other and tenses growing it was the perfect brewing for a war. All of these series of events eventually led to the Civil War.