Causes Of The Civil War

The Civil War of 1861 was a long time in the making; it was a very dark time in American history that pit brother against brother, and cousin against cousin, the main issue being that of slavery. This war claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans and the causes of the war can be traced back well before the first shots were fired by a fort in South Carolina. The Civil War occurred during the middle of the Industrial Revolution; this meant this war would be the first modern war fought, with the help of new inventions such as trains, factories, and much more deadly weapons. The main cause of the Civil War was over the issue of slavery; however, there were other factors such as the social order, and the election of Abraham Lincoln.

The Second Industrial Revolution reached America in the mid-nineteenth century, and one new invention was factories, which the North had many of. These factories needed to be provided with materials such as lumber, cotton, and other raw materials. While the North had many major cities, the South had much fewer factories and cities. During the Civil War, the South continued to be a mostly agrarian society with large plantations owned by the very wealthy and smaller family farms. The North enjoyed many more technological advantages than the South, such as more railroads, more telegraphs, and steam-powered transportation, the North was a manufacturing powerhouse. In addition to more technology, the North also boasted a larger free population, which included immigrants new and old, while the South had a much smaller free population and a large number of enslaved blacks. This differentiation in culture between the North and South was not the main cause of the Civil War, but the issue of slavery had been a point of contention between the North and South for many years prior; this is evident by the Missouri Compromise of 1820 which prevented slavery south of the Mason Dixon line and was a major factor in determining for new states, which would be free and which would allow slavery. The Missouri Compromise was an

The North with all of its cities and roads moved at a much faster pace, there was always something to move on to next. The South was much slower and was dictated by planting and harvesting seasons, fewer cities meant less travel and less opportunity for education and news to spread. In the South there were a number of distinct classes with wealthy plantation owners at the top of the social structure and slaves at the bottom. Wealthy owners had considerable influence on lawmakers of the South, and as a result, fought for issues that were important for southern states such as slavery. (citation needed). The South was known for farming, but not just farming, they created “cash crops” which meant that a limited number of crops were being grown and harvested to be sold, not so much for southern consumption. This is important because any attempts by the North to interfere with slavery meant a direct threat to the economy of the