There were three major events leading up to the civil war. The debate over slavery, the southern states seceding, and the attack at fort sumter. Slavery in my opinion was the main reason for the civil war. The whole reason the war started was because the North wanted to abolish slavery, and the south wanted to keep slavery. This is why the states broke into the north and the south to have a war. When the Southern states succeeded it just fueled the fire. It made each side hate the other. They started creating armies to go to war with and were ready to die for their cause. This made the war more intense because everyone was willing to die for their cause. Also they were very determined. The battle at Fort Sumter is what really sealed the