Causes Of The American Civil War Essay, Research Paper

The South, which was known as the Confederate States of America,

seceded from the North, which was also known as the Union, for many

different reasons. The reason they wanted to succeed was because there

was four decades of great sectional conflict between the two. Between

the North and South there were deep economic, social, and political

differences. The South wanted to become an independent nation. There

were many reasons why the South wanted to succeed but the main reason

had to do with the North?s view on slavery. All of this was basically

a different interpretation of the United States Constitution on both

sides. In the end all of these disagreements on both sides led to the

Civil War, in which the North won.

There were a few reasons other then the slavery issue, that the

South disagreed on and that persuaded them to succeed from the Union.

Basically the North favored a loose interpretation of the United

States Constitution. They wanted to grant the federal government

increased powers. The South wanted to reserve all undefined powers to

the individual states. The North also wanted internal improvements

sponsored by the federal government. This was more roads, railroads,

and canals. The South, on the other hand, did not want these projects

to be done at all. Also the North wanted to develop a tariff. With a

high tariff, it protected the Northern manufacturer. It was bad for

the South because a high tariff would not let the south trade its

cotton for foreign goods. The North also wanted a good banking and

currency system and federal subsidies for shipping and internal

improvements. The South felt these were discriminatory and that they

favored Northern commercial interests.

Now the main reason for the South?s secession was the Slavery

issue. Basically the South wanted and needed it and the North did not

want it at all. The South was going to do anything they could to keep

it. This was the issue that overshadowed all others. At this time the

labor force in the South had about 4 million slaves. These slaves were

very valuable to the slaveholding planter class. They were a huge

investment to Southerners and if taken away, could mean massive

losses to everyone. Slaves were used in the South as helpers in the

fields in the cultivation of tobacco, rice, and indigo, as well as

many other jobs. The South especially needed more slaves at this time

because they were now growing more cotton then ever because of the

invention of the cotton gin. Cotton production with slaves jumped from

178,000 bales in 1810 to over 3,841,000 bales in 1860. Within that

time period of 50 years the number of slaves also rose from about

1,190,000 to over 4,000,000. The plantation owners in the South

could not understand why the North wanted slavery abolished that bad.

Southerners compared it with the wage-slave system of the North. They

said that the slaves were better cared for then the free factory

workers in the North. Southerners said that slaveowners provided

shelter, food, care, and regulation for a race unable to compete in

the modern world without proper training. Many Southern preachers

proclaimed that slavery was sanctioned in the Bible. But after the

American Revolution slavery really died it the North, just as it was

becoming more popular in the South. By the time of 1804 seven of the

northern most states had abolished slavery. During this time a surge

of democratic reform swept the North and West. There were demands for

political equality and economic and social advances. The Northerners

goals were free public education, better salaries and working

conditions for workers, rights for women, and better treatment for

criminals. The South felt these views were not important. All of

these views eventually led to an attack on the slavery system in the

South, and showed opposition to its spread into whatever new

territories that were acquired. Northerners said that slavery revoked

the human right of being a free person. Now with all these views the

North set out on its quest for the complete abolition of slavery.

When new territories became available in the West the South

wanted to expand and use slavery in the newly acquired territories.

But the North opposed to this and wanted to stop the extension of

slavery into new territories. The North wanted to limit the number of

slave states in the Union. But many Southerners felt that a government

dominated by free states could endanger existing slaveholdings. The

South wanted to protect their states rights. The first evidence of the

North?s actions came in 1819 when Missouri asked to be admitted to the

Union as a slave state. After months of discussion Congress passed the

Missouri Compromise of 1820. This compromise was legislative measures

that regulated the extension of slavery in the United States for three

decades. Now the balance of 11 free states and 11 slave states was in

trouble. Maine also applied for statehood in 1819, in which it was

admitted as a free state. To please the South, slavery would be

prohibited forever from Louisiana Purchase territories north of 36?

30′. Southern extremists opposed any limit on the extension of

slavery, but settled for now. Missouri and Maine were to enter

statehood simultaneously to preserve sectional equality in the Senate.

For almost a generation this Compromise seemed to settle the conflict

between the North and South. But in 1848 the Union acquired a huge

piece of territory from Mexico. This opened new opportunities for the

spread of slavery for Southerners. But the distribution of these

lands in small lots speeded the development of this section, but it

was disliked in the South because it aided the free farmer than the

slaveholding plantation owner. So now Congress passed the Compromise

Measures of 1850 during August of 1850. It dealt mainly with the

question of whether slavery was to be allowed or prohibited in the

regions acquired from Mexico as a result of the Mexican War. This

compromise allowed abolition of the slave trade in the District of

Columbia and admission of California as a free state. Another part of

the compromise was the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850, which provided for

the return of runaway slaves to their masters. But many free states in

the Union passed personal liberty laws in an effort to help the slaves

escape. Many Northerners set up underground railroads where the

runaway slaves could hide and get food and be directed to Canada for

freedom. This angered many Southerners. This compromise also said that

the territory east of California given to the United States by Mexico

was divided into the territories of New Mexico and Utah, and they were

opened to settlement by both slaveholders and antislavery settlers.

This measure outdated the Missouri Compromise of 1820. All these

compromise measures resulted in a gradual intensification of the

hostility between the slave and free states. Again another law was

passed in 1854. It was called the Kansas-Nebraska Act. It authorized

the creation of Kansas and Nebraska, west of Missouri and Iowa and

divided by the 40th parallel. It repealed the Missouri Compromise of

1820 that had prohibited slavery in the territories north of 36? 30′,

and stated that the inhabitants of the territories should decide for

themselves the legality of slaveholding. This act was sponsored by the

Democratic senator Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois. He hoped to

simplify construction of a transcontinental railroad through these

states rather than through the southern part of the country. The

removal of the restriction on the expansion of slavery ensured

southern support for the bill, which was signed into law by President

Franklin Pierce on May 30, 1854. This act split the Democratic party

and destroyed the Whig party also. The northern Whigs joined

antislavery Democrats to form the Republican party in July 1854. A

conflict developed in Kansas between proslavery settlers from

Missouri and antislavery newcomers who began to move into the

territory from the northeastern states. This was what known as

“Bleeding Kansas.” There were also many people in the North known as

abolitionist s who made the South look very bad. The abolitionists

played a major role in shaping the views of many Northerners. These

people were fully against slavery and its expansion and most of the

time took matters into their own hands to get their point across.

Some of the most famous abolitionists were William Lloyd Garrison of

Boston, Wendell Phillips, who in 1836 gave up his law practice because

he couldn?t support the United States Constitution, James G. Birney of

Ohio who gathered all anti-slavery forces into one unit called the

Liberty Party and Frederick Douglass, who was an escaped slave who

became a black editor.

The last main conflict that led to succession was during the

presidential election of 1860. The newly formed Republican party

nominated Abraham Lincoln on principles that opposed the further

expansion of slavery. Now with Lincoln being elected the South really

felt that expansionism was being threatened, and because expansion

was vital to the survival of slavery they also felt their way of life

was being threatened. Because slavery was such a important part of

Southern society, the South felt that they could not survive without

it. Now they felt there was nothing more they could do. They were

convinced that they should make a bid for independence by succeeding

rather then face political encirclement. It was all described when a

Southern man said “We have at last reached that point in our history

when it is necessary for the South to withdraw from the Union. This

has not been our seeking…but we are bound to accept it or

self-preservation.” This was officially the end and now the South

wanted to succeed. Lincoln said that succession was illegal and said

that he intended to maintain federal possessions in the South.

Southerners hoped the threat of succession would force

acceptance of Southern demands, but it did not. Finally the day came

on Dec. 20, 1860 when South Carolina adopted an ordinance of

succession. The other states to follow and succeed were: Mississippi

on Jan 9, 1861, Florida on January 10, Alabama on Jan 11, Georgia on

January 19, Louisiana on January 26, and Texas on February 1. On

February 4 delegates from all these states met in Montgomery, Alabama

where they drafted a constitution for the Confederate States of

America. This outraged the North and what was led to the Civil War.

Many different efforts were made to save the Union and prevent a

war. James Buchanan believed the Constitution did not allow the North

to take any action against the South. An effort was made on February

4th by the Virginia Legislature who called a conference of the states

at Washington D.C. Representatives were sent from 7 slave and 14 free

states. An amendment was passed saying Congress could never interfere

with slavery in the states. But it was not ratified by the necessary

number of states and was forgotten when the Civil War began.

The existence of slavery was the central element of the conflict

between the North and South. Other problems existed that led to

succession but none were as big as the slavery issue. The only way to

avoid the war was to abolish slavery but this was not able to be done

because slavery is what kept the South running. But when the South

seceded it was said by Abraham Lincoln that “A house divided against

itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure

permanently half slave and half free.” Because slavery formed two

opposing societies, and slavery could never be abolished, the Civil

War was inevitable.” These were all the reasons why the South seceded

from the Union and there was really no other way to avoid succession

because the North and South had totally opposing views.