The Civil War: Causes and
Comparisons
Libertyville H.S.
Causes of the Civil War

Was slavery THE cause of
the Civil War?
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BUT…
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Moral issue
Most clearly distinguished N,
S
Heart of the most divisive
issue
Vast majority of southerners
not slave owners
Vast majority of northerners
not abolitionists
Lincoln, GOP did not
threaten slavery where it
existed
 4 slave states stayed in the
Union
Causes of the Civil War

Economic causes
 Industrial
N v.
Agricultural S
 Slave economy vs.
wage economy
 Rivalry over slavery,
tariffs
 Aristocratic planters
vs. industrialists
Causes of the Civil War

Nature of the Federal
Union

South: compact theory
(States’ rights), right to
secede
 North: people created
union; indivisible; can’t
secede!

Lincoln: keep slavery to
preserve Union: war
(initially) not about
abolishing slavery
Causes of the Civil War

Control over the central
gov’t
 Struggle
over territories
(free v. slave)
 West tied economically
to the North
W
land NO GOOD for
cotton
 S lost W support,
sympathy
 Thus S a minority region,
w/in America
Causes of the Civil War

Differences in culture
 South
static, aristocratic
 North more dynamic,
democratic

Fanaticism
 John
Brown’s raid
 “Bleeding Kansas”
 Uncle Tom’s Cabin

Lack of leadership for
compromise
Advantages of the North

Controlled 2/3 of states
(in blue)
 19
free states
 4 border states: DE,
MD, KY MO (but
southern parts of OH,
IN, IL were pro-south)
 WV became state,
breaking away from VA

Northern population = 22
million vs. 9 million in S.
Advantages of the North

Northern manufacturing
represented over 90% of
the country’s industry
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South had few factories
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Iron & Steel mills
Armament factories
textile factories
Dependent upon imports
North retained control
over navy, merchant
marine
Advantages of the North

North contained over 20k
miles of railroad track,
more than double the
South
 North possessed more
than ¾ the nation’s
financial resources
N had easier time
financing the war
 S struggled to raise
money to buy war
supplies

Advantages of the South

Geographically
compact group of 11
states
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Original seven states
that seceded joined by
4 border states: AR,
TN, NC, VA
Southerners fighting a
defensive war
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Interior lines
Shorter lines of
communication
Knew terrain
Advantages of the South

South retained loyalty
of outstanding military
leaders
 Robert
E. Lee
 Thomas “Stonewall”
Jackson

South had friends in
Great Britain, France
 Aristocracy
 Cotton
imports
 S. expected quick
recognition
Nicknames of North, South
•
North
•
Blue
• “The Union”
• “Boys in Blue”
• “Yankees”
• South
• Grey
• “Boys in Grey”
• “Johnny Reb”
• “Rebels”