Background Information on the American Civil War (Research Paper Example)

The American Civil War was a civil war in the United States that started in 1861. It was started because of tensions over slavery, economic conflict, and state’s rights. It was fought between states loyal to the Union and states that succeeded to form the Confederate States of America. The president of the Union was Abraham Lincoln and the president of the Confederacy was Jefferson Davis. The first battle of the war was the First Battle of Bull Run and the last battle was the Battle of Palmito Ranch. The war ended in 1865 with the Union’s victory. The war resulted in the dissolution of the Confederacy, the abolishment of slavery, and the passage of the 13th, 14th, 15th amendments.

What caused the Civil War?

There are many reasons why the American Civil War started. These issues, like tensions over slavery, states’ rights, and westward expansions, started the bloodiest war in the history of North America. As Historian Gerald Gunderson said, “There now exists a large inventory of previously suggested interpretations building upon such diverse mechanisms as slavery, sectionalism, political ineptitude, slave-power conspiracy, economic conflicts, and abolitional activism.” I believe that the main issue that ignited the conflict was slavery.

Although many explain slavery as just an ethical issue, it is much more in-depth than that. Slavery was an economic issue. Slavery was extremely important in the south and fueled its economy. The south relied on its farms to make money, and at the farms, the slaves worked. If there were to be no more slaves, the south’s plantations and its economy would have been ruined. 

The south worried that slaves would be abolished nationwide because the north wanted to abolish slavery. If they abolished slavery, they thought they could get a supply of cheap labor through former slaves. After tensions had simmered for years between the north and south, Abraham Lincoln was elected president. When he was elected in 1860, seven southern states had already succeeded from the Union. South Carolina issued its “Declaration of the Causes of Secession” when Lincoln was elected. They thought that Lincoln was anti-slavery and in favor of the North, even though Lincoln had said in his first inaugural address that he had “no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the States where it exists. I believe I have no lawful right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so.”

Backing up my point: So, if the South’s economy relied on slaves, how did its economy survive postwar?

So, if the South had relied on slavery, how did it keep the economy going after they could no longer use slaves? The answer is sharecropping. Sharecropping is a type of farming in which a tenant supplies his labor in return for a share of the crop. Often there would be a bad growing season and the sharecroppers wouldn’t be able to pay enough of their share, so it put them deep into debt. Many freed slaves went into sharecropping. It was almost the same thing they had been doing before the war. Many times people had to completely give away their crop to make up for debt. Eventually, technology improved and slaves and sharecroppers were no longer needed because technology such as cotton picker machines outperformed them.

Summary/Conclusion

There are many reasons why the civil war began, but I believe the main reason was the economic side of slavery. The south relied on slaves for their economy, so they did not want the north to abolish slavery.