Causes of the Civil War

Introduction The American Civil war began in 1861 and lasted up to 1865. The civil war was fought in the United States. There are several causes that led to the breakout of the war but the main reason behind the conflict was the controversy that surrounded the issue of slavery1. While slavery is generally cited as the main cause of the war, there are also other political and cultural differences between the North and the South that certainly contributed to the conflict. There was a need to stop the act of subjecting fellow humans to hard labor and harsh treatment2. The anti-slavery had a perspective that branded the system of slavery as anachronistic evil. They, therefore, adopted a strategy which was aimed at reducing the spread of slavery and in the end making it extinct.

The south felt their constitutional rights were being limited by the strategy employed by the northern states. They also believed that the abolition of slavery would temper with their economy as they had greatly invested in the slavery business. The situation was further worsened with a possibility of a repeat of the horrors of Santo Domingo in which most white people (both men women and children) were killed during the Haiti slave revolt. They face little resistance from the then president (James Buchanan) as they took over control of the properties and federal ports within the boundaries. However, when Abraham Lincoln was elected, he told the southern states they had no right to leave the United States under the constitution. He sent troops to prevent them from leaving at the time the civil war had already begun.

c) Abraham Lincoln When Abraham Lincoln was elected, it triggered secession and the civil war in general. The reason behind this was that the Southern Leaders believed that Abraham would limit their activities. This was to mean he was aware of the ongoing attempt to by the south state to tamper with the government. d) States’ Rights The rights under the constitution also contributed to the initiation of the civil war in America. For the south, they believed that any state would secede when they wanted. They had the ability to leave the union at any given time. Northern states, however, were in contrast with this idea as they believed that the concept was against that of the Founding Fathers. The expansion (territorial) of slavery accelerated westwards creating more differences between the North and the south 6.

This led the two sides to come to a conclusion that the power needed to solve the question concerned with slavery in different territories was the power that was to determine the state of slavery in the future. In this quest to control the slavery, there was a shift in power options between the North and the South. The Northern states occupied more states and their influence on the people was much compared to that of the southern states. This was not taken lightly by the Confederate states as they felt that they would lose more of their power making them take countermeasures7. They both also wanted to be in control of the nation making them fight for power instead of adhering to the constitution of the Founding Fathers.

Lincoln tried to unite the people using the concept of a republic being managed by the citizens, telling them “It was therefore essential for the people to successfully manage the republic and prevent any attempt to hinder the activities of the government or rather overthrow it”. The event has been memorable to the people of America because it marked the beginning of a new era under new leadership trying to unite people from different background and race. Despite the differences, United States has been able to live up to its expectations of uniting the people and getting over the effects of the civil war. Bibliography Enmale, Richard. " The Journal of Economic History 34, no. http://www. jstor. org/stable/2116615. 915 Rugemer, Edward B.