Essay On The Causes Of The Civil War

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Before the American Civil War had begun, the United States was facing a divide between the North and the South, also known as the Union and the Confederates. Tensions that caused this divide was primarily due to the opposing opinions of economic, social and political beliefs. Within these three fundamental topics, lied the conflicting issues regarding slavery, immigration and industrial development. According to Battle Lines: A Graphic History of Civil War, by Jonathan Fetter-Vorm and Ari Kelman, the Civil War’s stamp on history was one of great significance. It brought “scope of federal authority by establishing national currency, a precedent for military conscription, an income tax, and an expansive system of government pensions,” (ix). …show more content…

With a surge in industrialization and inventions of machinery, most of the North didn’t see the need for slaves. Some were even working to abolish slavery all together. There were many advocates wanting to put an end to slavery before the Civil War even started. In 1856, John Brown was an abolitionist from New England, that gathered “a wagon with as many weapons and supplies as he could must and headed off to Kansas,” (20). Brown and his sons had “captured a group of proslavery settlers,” (20). The next day, the proslavery group were found by the Brown’s, cut into pieces (20). Instances like this would occur all throughout the war and even after the war. The war was well underway when Lincoln attempted to make a compromise with the South by giving the Confederates an ultimatum (44). This ultimatum stated that the Southern states’ federal property be returned to the Union and that any slave states that returned to the Union would be able to maintain slavery. However, if the South chose not to agree to his terms, then any slave in rebel states would be freed on January 1, 1863 (44). Not considering any slave states that are apart of the Union. The South didn’t ignored Lincoln’s