Causes of the Civil War Essay Example

The Civil War holds the title as the bloodiest and most gruesome war in United States history. It can be described as an extreme clash between the Northern and Southern states, starting at Fort Sumter, South Carolina in April 1861. What led up to the event, or in other words, what caused this grisly feud amongst the Americans? Leading up to the event, many small conflicts and important occurrences were taking place, such as westward expansion, economic disproportion, the election of 1860, and perhaps most importantly, the slavery debate between the North and South. Therefore, it can be safely said that a difference in economic interests, inequalities, and views on slavery caused the Civil War because of the acute disagreements that were had between the two sides of the country. There are many pieces of evidence surrounding the previous claim and can thoroughly prove that the Northern and Southern states faced economic inequality and had differing opinions on an array of issues and concepts. 

To begin, the Northern and Southern economies differed greatly. By way of explanation, the two halves of the country had varying economic interests. For example, it is shown that the North strongly valued the creation of manufactured goods through factories. In contrast, the South based itself on agricultural production and farmed resources such as cotton and corn. The Southern economy produced 100 percent of the nation’s cotton in 1861. This can also be seen in a map of the country in 1860, portraying that a substantial portion of the Southern states were producing thousands of bales of cotton (Doc A). Meanwhile, the North had a significantly higher yearly value of manufactured goods at $1,500,000,000, leaving the South producing only $155,000,000 worth of manufactured goods (Doc B). Adding to this, the South was vastly reliant on slavery for their cotton production. The North had a differing opinion on slavery, as can be seen from a map of the 1860 presidential election where the South’s majority vote was for J.C. Breckenridge, a pro-slavery Politian, while the North collectively voted for Abraham Lincoln, a man against slavery (Doc N). From the documents above, it can be clearly seen that the North and South had alternate economic values. These diverging interests led to two significantly different regions in the United States, cutting the country in half economically, fueling tension. This tension would eventually lead to larger conflicts, resulting in the Civil War. 

Similarly, surrounding these contrasts, a sense of inequality was felt by the South. The North’s publicity, population, popularity, and representation was seen as significantly higher than in the South. Southerners realized this difference and became bitter over their perceived lack of representation. They began to demand representation for their contributions to the North’s economic success and began to threaten it with the idea of potential lack of cotton as seen in the quote, “What would happen if no cotton was furnished for three years? … England would topple headlong and carry the whole civilized world with her.... No, you dare not make war on cotton. No power on earth dares to make war upon it. Cotton is king.” (Doc D). At the time, cotton was quite agreeably supporting the textile industry in the North. Seen as though cotton can only be produced in the South, the South had a desire for its counterpart to realize that it played a significant role in their wealth and success. The South was also largely dependent on Northern goods. For example, it is stated, “that we have no foreign trade, no merchants, nor respectable artists: that in comparison with the free states, we contribute nothing to the literature, polite arts and inventions of the age... and that we are dependent on Northern capitalists for the means necessary to build out railroads, canals and other public improvements...” (Doc C). The quote refers to the South’s inability to produce manufactured goods for themselves, and that it was largely dependent on the North’s success, leaving the South its shadow. The South began to point out that it was not prioritized as much as the North, leading to the feeling of developing resentment among Southerners.  

Returning to the topic of slavery, it is known that the South relied heavily on slaves to produce cotton. However, the North strongly disagreed with the morality of slavery. For example, two groups in the state of Kansas arose from this conflict, the border ruffians, and the abolitionists. Border ruffians agreed with and heavily supported slavery, while abolitionists fought to completely abolish slavery. Kansas was mismatched from the rest of the states because its beliefs on slavery were very much mixed according to a document note on a map depicting the Kansas-Nebraska Act (Doc J). Eventually, violence broke out between the two groups, causing an event called “Bleeding Kansas”, defined by the creation of intense violence between border ruffians and abolitionists. Two years prior to the Kansas-Nebraska Act, an African American abolitionist, Frederick Douglass, delivered a speech describing the hypocrisy of American ideals. He stated, “To him, your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, and unholy license... There is not a nation on earth guilty of practices more shocking and bloody than are the people of the United States, at this very hour.” (Doc G). In Frederick’s quote, he was referring to the prominence of slavery and mistreatment towards black people. For African Americans, Independence Day stands for something that does not exist in the United States. Black people began to rise and call out the United States for their mistreatment and oppression.  

The Northerners, of course, were not fond of the idea of slavery, leading to extreme abolitionists, like John Brown, to take more violent action towards complete abolition. The concept of abolition was a cause that drove people to extremes. During the period of Bleeding Kansas, Brown and his men led an attack on pro-slavery settlers, killing multiple of his own men, eventually leading to his own execution. In a document describing the reaction to John Brown’s attack it tells, “Bells tolled at the news of his execution, guns fired salutes, and large crowds gathered to hear fiery speakers denounce the South.” (Doc I). The extremists following John Brown’s uprising lead to tension and violence between the North and the South due to the controversy. To the Southerners it was unconstitutional for the North to take away their rights to own slaves and separate themselves from the Union. As stated in process of Georgia’s secession, “They have endeavored to weaken our security, to disturb our domestic peace and tranquility, and persistently refused to comply with their express constitutional obligations to us in reference to that property, and by the use of their power in the Federal Government have striven to deprive us of an equal enjoyment of the common Territories of the Republic.” (Doc O). As shown in the document, the South began to form their own Confederacy, trying to completely distance themselves from the North. President Abraham Lincoln did not believe in secession, angering the South, sparking more violence into the war. 

The South and the North engaged in much conflict throughout the years during and prior to the Civil War. It is no exaggeration to say that the various economic diversions, inequality, and conflicting opinions of slavery caused this civil war between the two opposing sides of the United States. However, there could very well have been differing reasons for the commencing of the war. For example, it is known that the North and South have disputed over the balance of free and slave states in the past, leading to conflicts. In addition to this, the desire both sides of the country had for political control could have triggered a competitive relationship between the North and South. Eventually, the war did end, leaving the Southern economy in ruins. President Lincoln insisted to pardon and forgive the South, due to his ideal that the nation is a whole and acts as a Union, as can be seen in his speech to the U.S. Senator when he states, “I do not expect the Union to be dissolves- I do not expect the house to fall- but I do expect it will cease to be divided.” (Doc M). Although the war was short-lived, it made an impact on the nation that will continuously be remembered, and resulted in a nation that will forever be united.