Running head: CAUSES OF THE CIVIL WAR
Causes of the Civil War
Isabehl Kurzawa
Logan University
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Causes of the Civil War
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Causes of the Civil War
Slavery is often quoted as being the main reason for the Civil war, but it is one of many
that ties the others together. It was the underlying problem behind every other challenge being
faced by the expanding nation ​(Berkin, Miller, Cherny, & Gormly, 2016)​. The Civil War was the
culmination of many conflicts happening and tensions building from the 1700s onward.
Leading up to the Civil War, the development of new states revealed a challenge with the
way the United States government was set up. States had power over the people within their
borders, but so did the federal government. This created conflicts over just how much power the
federal government had over the states as more and more were created (HistoryNet, 2020). This
also raised the question of how much power the federal government had over territories that had
not yet become states (Berkin, et al., 2016).
As people moved west, both the northern anti-slavery states and the southern pro-slavery
states wanted to expand as well. This further solidified the conflicts between the two regions as
they each looked to the federal government for answers. The Missouri Compromise of 1820
quieted the chaos for a short while, but with increasing numbers of people moving west, the
matter could no longer be ignored (Berkin, et al., 2016). The expansion made the once unified
nation more and more unstable as people called for the ratification of new state constitutions
(Berkin, et al., 2016).
The Kansas-Nebraska Act was a major example of this instability. Lawmakers decided to
leave the decisions on slavery up to the voters, known as “popular sovereignty” (Berkin, et al.,
2016). They had faith that the citizens would go along with the North and South pattern that
existed previously (Berkin, et al., 2016). In an unexpected turn of events, voters in favor and
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against slavery flooded Kansas to ensure it would join their side (Berkin, et al., 2016). In the end,
the majority of votes cast were illegal and violence broke out (Berkin, et al., 2016).
Furthermore, economic differences made matters even more complex. Southern states
relied on cotton production of slaves for income and with the development of better cotton
manufacturing, cotton became the number one crop. If the nation were to suddenly abolish
slavery, one-third of all farms in the south would be left without workers (Berkin, et al., 2016).
In 1852, the book Uncle Tom’s Cabin was the first book to portray slavery in America (Berkin,
et al., 2016). It quickly became a bestseller and had a huge impact on people’s views of slavery
(Berkin, et al., 2016; HistoryNet, 2020).
Prior to the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, many slaves could escape to the North where
plantation owners could not force them back to the South (Berkin, et al., 2016). This act allowed
plantation owners to venture North and take their slaves back to the plantations (Berkin, et al.,
2016). This angered Northerners and made them feel insecure in their own homes and on their
own land. This created a movement known as the Underground Railroad (Berkin, et al., 2016;
HistoryNet, 2020). It was composed of a system of hiding places for slaves as they escaped even
further North to Canada or South to Mexico (Berkin, et al., 2016).
In the late 1850s, a black man by the name of Dred Scott applied for citizenship (Berkin,
et al., 2016; HistoryNet, 2020). The matter was debated all the way into the Supreme Court,
where it was decided in 1857 that no person of African descent would be allowed to become a
U.S. citizen (HistoryNet, 2020). It was at this point that the Missouri Compromise was
overturned. The election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 finally sparked the expected major conflict
within the United States because he opposed slavery (HistoryNet, 2020). The southern states
Causes of the Civil War
preferred the Democrat Stephen Douglas, who supported slavery within the democracy. After
Lincoln beat Douglas in the presidential election, many southern states began seceding from the
union.
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References:
Berkin, C., Miller, C. L., Cherny, R. W., & Gormly, J. L. (2016). Chapter 13: Sectional Conflict
and Shattered Union, 1840-1860. (7th Ed.) Making America: A history of the United
States (pp. 70-93). Australia: Cengage Learning.
HistoryNet. (2020). Causes Of The Civil War. Retrieved March 31, 2020, from
https://www.historynet.com/causes-of-the-civil-war