causes of the civil war

 causes of the civil war

Introduction

Civil war is a war that happens among people belonging to the same country. In the year 1861 to 1865, the Northern United States and the Southern United States. The was resolved but left unanswered questions among the citizens, such as whether there will be liberty and equality among the citizens. The following content will expand on the causes of the civil war. Some of the mentioned causes are such as industry vs. farming, state rights, expansion, slavery; issues surrounding Kansas; Abraham Lincoln and Secession.

Main Body

In the 1850s, the North part of America was transforming from farming to industrialization. in 1860, the south part of America was still agricultural and sold the highest amount of staple food in the world. however, as the years went, the southern part still lagged as they used the slaves for the labour required in the farms. They only had twenty-nine percent of the railroad tracks and thirteen percent of banks. During the production process, southern people used slaves in the farms while, on the contrary, the North part of the country was developing at a fast rate. Hence, there was the growth of a commercial and manufacturing economy. The commercial and manufacturing economy made it easier for the northern part of producing more arms, thus giving them an upper hand during the war. For example, the North produced 3,200 firearms to every 100 produced in the South. The northern part of America engaged 40% in agriculture while the southern part of 84%, which made it easy for the Northern part of the country to take control during the war. Despite the lag in the southern part of America in industrialization, there was still a great wealth in the southern part. The wealth in the two countries propelled the war. accumulation of wealth; made it easy to attain more weapons and kept the war going. [1]

States’ rights were identified to cause the civil war in America. The focus was on whether the institution of slavery and whether the federal government would get rid of slavery. in the year 1776, thirteen independent colonies had been set free from Great Britain; thus they considered themselves strong and sovereign. The demands of the war made the states identify a need for a central government. the continental congress made articles that turned them into weak states. the weak state of the countries made it called for a better union. Through the US constitution, there was the strengthening of the central government, such as through the use of taxes and the military. There has also been the practice of freedom of speech, assembly, and religion, among others. There was a fight for equality among the people. there were also amendments that re-assured the states of continued autonomy in their issues. [2]

As the states came up, there were also tariffs in the year 1812, twenty years later the tariffs that were a benefit to the northern part of the US made it hard for the Southern part of the country. Hence the country agreed to nullify the tariffs. Through this, the state rights were honoured as the Northern people worked on abolishing the slave trade. there were aids for the slaves to escape and run-away. The slave owners were also prosecuted, and the slaves were rescued. In the year 1848, there was the expansion of the US territory taking over a part of the pacific ocean. Hence there was the argument of whether the slave trade should be totally abolished or not. The debate created a large gap between the “slaveholding and non-slaveholding” states. when Abraham Lincoln abolished slavery, the southern part of the US left the Union, thus fueling up for the war. The expansion of the United States towards the west side was also a threat to the southern of the country as there was a division of power in previous years. Therefore the expansion would cause them to lose their rights, which made the new state become a source of war and fight for power. [3]

Besides, the southern part of the country became scared of modernity. As the northern part ended slavery, there was the introduction of urbanization, which resulted from the industrial revolution. As the industrial revolution took over, there was the introduction of education. Through the education system, the Northern people learnt and studied against slavery, which fueled the abolition. More white people left the south to the North hence bringing in the defensive-aggressive political character. due to the behaviour, there was high tension and development of suspicion among the people. additionally, the Southern part identified the Northern part as a frightening and revolutionary region. This made the southern part want to preserve their traditional practices. The southern part also ensured that they fought against the constitutional liberties to stop the northern part from overthrowing them. [4]

In the year 1855, there was the issue of the bleeding Kansas and elections in the year 1856. This was the period when slavery got at its peak, and the people would hardly tolerate it. the intolerable situation of slavery created tension. The tension was identified to start when people decided to claim for their land. As people settled in the initial days, there was no use of the title deeds. Hence the new settlers took advantage and occupied the fertile lands. The settlers started fighting against each other as Missouri claimed the land of Kansas hence considering the Yankees as the invaders. On the other hand, the Yankees accused Missouri of taking over the fertile lands illegally. Later in the year 1856, there was violence that broke out and got to the peak as John Brown assassinated five slavery supporters leading to strife among the settlers. In the land of Kansas, there were differences between party leaders, whereby some were safe candidates while others were too radical. The region also had mixed feelings towards slavery as there were some in support and others against the latter. therefore, the differences in the region contributed to the war as the tension continued to build up. there was hatred among different people and groups hence fueling up the war. [5]

Later in the year 1857, there was financial panic and toughed economic times, which caused strength in the Republican Party and made the sections develop tensions. Before the hard economy, there was strong economic growth, which was focused on growing and prospering. However, after the year 1850, there was a strain in the iron and textile industries as iron was accumulation in most world markets. American Iron mills were closed because the iron prices went down, making it unprofitable. The drop in the economy was blamed at the low-tariffs economic policies that were in control of the democrats.

There was also a shift of interest in Western goods to North. Hence the southern part of the country was left out of the trade as the tariffs beat down their economy. The southern part was also considered wealthy, but the Nothern part took advantage and used them to make the profit. The North part had well-developed communication, transportation, financial stability and global trade. They depended on the Southern section to make their progress in every aspect hence bringing out the inequality between the two regions. Thus creating a platform for the war because the Southerners felt as though they were unfairly treated. [6]

In the year 1860, elections were held, and William Seward, Salmon Chase and Simon Cameron led in the Republican nominations. However, Abraham Lincoln gained popularity in the year 1858, and he was nominated in the year 1860. Abraham Lincoln was against the slavery codes; hence he spoke against them. He was also supported by Douglas Freeport Doctrine, but there was the support of the latter by Dred Scott as upheld slavery and called for a slave code and laws that would also protect the act of slavery. The Southern radicals made demands for the inclusion of a slave code. Thus there was a division between the southern and Northern Democratic party. Breaking away from the union made it hard for the southerners as they lost their voice in national politics. The Republican nominee also faced divided support due to the division in the democratic party. The two regions would hardly agree due to the different interests. Each wanted and fought for a different thing hence, creating more tension and fueling up the war. [7]

There was Southern Secession in the mid-1850s showed a weakening for their power in national politics. The abolition of the slave trade took away all the loopholes and privileges that the Southerners had, such as unfair prevalence in federal territories. Thus after the elections in 1860, Abraham Lincoln brought in a legitimate government that never favoured the southerners hence creating a platform for war. One of the states that left after the elections was South Carolina, which had eleven states that would leave the USA and make a new country that would be identified as the “Confederate States of America.” Lincoln stopped Their intention to leave as the war had started. The trial to stop them from moving created tension among the Northners and the Southerners; as a result, the southerners decided to fight against the Northerners. [8]

Conclusion

To wrap up, the American war started in 1861 to 1865; that was a period of four years. There were various underlying causes of the latter. Slavery was identified as a cause of the latter as the slaves desired to be set free and attain freedom and equality. The abolition of slavery created tension between the Northern and the Southern part of the United States. The northern part supported the repeal, but the Southerners were in full support of the latter hence creating unsettled grounds between the two. The Northern part was also growing at a fast rate as they adopted industrialization; consequently, the creation of the firearms was easier and faster. Also, due to their substantially acquired wealth, they have the facilities to make more weapons than the Southerners who lagged. The Southerners were also hurt by the tariffs that only benefited the Northerners and took a toll on the Southern economy; it also came out as if the North was taking advantage of the south and using their wealth to make profits. As the Northern part adopted modernity, the southern part got scared as the north was taking large steps in education; the south felt threatened by the North as they were scared that they would be overthrown. Kansas region also faced several issues that contributed to the outbreak of the war, as the people living in the area fought against each other due to land issues. Abraham Lincoln was also against slavery; hence he was detested by the Southerners as they threatened to break off from the union. The rivals and differences in the southern and Northern parts cause the outbreak of the war.

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