Causes Of The Civil War Essay Research

Causes Of The Civil War Essay, Research Paper

Causes of the Civil War

The tragic “fireball in the night”, imagined by Jefferson had finally rung. All compromises had failed. Northern and Southern civilians clashed in the streets and took up arms. The Civil War had begun. The American states had declared war with each other. The South, which was known as the Confederate States of America, seceded from the North, which was also known as the Union, as a result of four decades of great sectional conflict between the two. Between the North and South, there were deep economic, social, and political differences. Although these two distinctly contrary regions had been linked together by a common Constitution, they had drastically different perspectives on the reasons for their entrance into war. This idea can be further analyzed by examining the differences in their political, economical, and social views.

There were a few political and economical reasons that the South disagreed on which persuaded them to secede from the Union. Basically, the North favored a loose interpretation of the United States Constitution. They wanted to grant the federal government increased powers. They wanted a strong central government to govern the states and maintain order and unity among the separate states. They realized that a strong central government would be able to make laws to better enhance their lifestyle and also keep the states united as a country. However, Southerners wanted to reserve all undefined powers to the individual states. They had just fought a long, bloody war with the British for American Independence and did not want a central government governing them. They could remember how life was like before the revolution and did not want to fall back into a kind of governing system where their lives were decided by a small group of wealthy people. The Northern and Mid-Western States were becoming more and more powerful as the population increased. The Southern States were losing political power. Just as the original thirteen colonies fought for their independence almost 100 years earlier, the Southern States felt a growing need for freedom from the central Federal authority in Washington D.C. They felt that each State should make its own laws. The North also wanted internal improvements sponsored by the federal government such as roads, railroads, and canals. Contrary to the Northern views, the South did not want these projects to be done at all. Northerners wanted to develop a tariff that would serve as a protective shield for Northern manufacturers. It was controversial in the South because a high tariff would prevent Southerners from trading their cotton and tobacco for foreign goods. It angered the Southern people to have to pay more for the goods they wanted from Europe or pay more to get goods from the North. In addition, The North wanted a good banking and currency system and federal subsidies for shipping and internal improvements. However, the South felt that these views were discriminatory and that they favored Northern commercial interests.

While numerous problems had clearly been prevalent in the United States, the war could have been averted if a settlement had been reached on the issue of slavery. The abolitionist of the time had strongly opposed the concept, but a large number of Northern residents had remained pacifistic on the subject. The South had developed slavery to such an extent that without it, their economy would suffer enormous setbacks. This was the issue that overshadowed all others. At this time the labor force in the South had about four million slaves. These slaves were very valuable to the slave-holding class much in the same way that land was. The South especially needed more slaves at the time because they were now growing more cotton then ever because of the invention of the cotton gin. New machinery was changing the textile industry in New England and Britain. These mills needed more and more cotton, creating a great demand for cotton. Cotton production with slaves jumped from 178,000 bales in 1810 to over 3,841,000 bales in 1860. Within that time period of fifty years the number of slaves also rose from about 1,190,000 to over 4,000,000. Cotton became a cash crop for Southerners and slaves became a necessity for the cotton industry. The Southern slaveholders often found it perplexing that many Northerners had seen their treatment and use of these captive people as detrimental to society. 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, and that slave owners 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. This is especially relevant when emphasizing the Northern opposition to the Southern ideals.

Shortly after the American Revolution slavery virtually died in the North, just as it was becoming more popular in the South. By 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 Northerner’s goals were free public education, better salaries and working conditions for workers, rights for women, and better treatment