FREE ESSAY ON CAUSES OF THE CIVIL WAR

CAUSES OF THE CIVIL WAR

Origins of the Civil War
Partisan politics have been an American institution since the days of George Washington
and Thomas Jefferson. During the youth of the new nation, political parties were often
divided over issues such as the constitution and government, but during the nineteenth
century problems arose that had never plagued America before. Ideas of the abolition of
slavery and secession from the Union cut political lines right down the middle and made
politics and economics a battle between the North and the South. With no compromise in
sight, tensions rose and the thoughts of a more perfect union began to crumble. When
blame is sought for the cause of the Civil War, slavery has always been at the forefront
and is the most prominent reason, but also included are the economic differences between
the North and the South. No one reason can clearly explain why the events that led up to
the Civil War caused the Union to divide, but by grouping together the economic
consequences of the government's actions towards the abolition of slavery, taxation of
trade between the North and South, and the fight for state's right we can begin to draw a
clearer picture of what the sources of the Civil War were. Perhaps best stated by Major
General of the Confederate States of America, John B. Gordon, 
Slavery was undoubtedly the immediate fomenting cause of the woeful American conflict. It
was the great political factor around which the passions of the sections had long been
gathered-the tallest pine in the political forest around whose top the fiercest
lightnings were to blaze and whose trunk was destined to be shivered in the earthquake
shocks of war. (Gordon pg. 2)
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The arguments that arose before the Civil War were rooted in a set of tariffs placed on
trade between the manufacturing North and the agricultural South. Goods produced in
Europe were often less expensive than goods in the North. In order to ensure Northern
profits from manufacturing high tariffs were placed on foreign goods being imported to
the South. The South argued they were being forced to pay a considerably higher price to
purchased manufactured goods and blamed this for the recession the Southern economy was
feeling during the 1820's (Swogger pg.2). In 1828 vice-president John C. Calhoun said if
a state felt that the federal government was using its authority beyond the limits of the
Constitution, that state could revoke the law. Arguments over taxation policies led to
South Carolina passing an Ordinance of Nullification in November 1832 to override
President Jackson's tariff practices. The state refused to collect the tariff imposed on
foreign trade, and threatened to withdraw from the Union. With the amendment of the
Tariff of Abominations in 1833, South Carolina continued its statehood in the
Union.(Golden pg. 2)
After South Carolina set the precedent for actions toward state's rights, the Southern
states looked to extend their sovereignty and move away from what they saw as an
oppressive federal government. After seeing the impact of the tariff regulations,
tensions between state governments and federal law grew to a heightened level. Every
legislative move was closely watched and weighed by the public and the local governments.
Citizens felt the state governments could better act in their own self interest 
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and that quarrels between state to state often left issues unresolved. During the
presidential elections of 1848, 1852, and 1856 the issue of slavery had been vaguely
debated and often ignored by the candidates. Reducing the power of the federal government
and increasing the authority of state sovereignty was also guided by the opposing
differences in economic systems of the North and the South.
The manufacturing and trade industry of the North and the agricultural industry of the
South relied on a certain amount of cooperation between the two sides, but also meant
that each side could sustain itself financially to an extent. The Southern economy was
flourishing before the Panic of 1837 and quickly rebounded from the depression. Prior to
1861, the South and its plantations were economically soaring. Cotton and tobacco were
constantly being harvested below the Mason-Dixon Line, bringing in tons money from all
over the world. A new industrial wave was beginning in the North, but this futuristic
wave was not grossing nearly as much as the plantations of the South. During the Panic of
1857 the North was shattered by the lack of consumption and trade due to the recession,
but the Southern economy relying on an abundance of crop growth and sales was unscathed
by the Panic. "The clash of a wealthy, agricultural South and a poorer, industrial North
was intensified by abolitionists who were not above using class struggle to further their
cause."(Golden pg. 3)
Pressure leading up to the war began to mount with the coming presidential election of
1860. The candidates of Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas found 
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themselves in the midst of heated political issues on slavery and secession. Since 1832,
not a single President had won reelection due to the negative views of presidential
practices towards the resolution of the slavery issue. The Republican candidate of
Lincoln was supported by the North and Democratic candidate Douglas was supported by the
Upper South. Democrats in the South saw Lincoln's possible victory in the election to be
the grounds for secession. Less than two months after Lincoln's victory, South Carolina
legislature met to discuss secession and unanimously voted to leave the Union. By the end
of February, six other states had left the Union and Jefferson Davis had become the first
president of the Confederate States of America. (Goldfield pg. 450)
The progression towards the Civil War from this point on was inevitable. The United
States of America citing its reasons for war as patriotism, nationalism, and preservation
of the Union at all costs and the South's reasoning of the federal government's invasion
of state's rights on several issues, with the most glaring being slavery meant a
compromise could no longer be reached, but an enigma of this proportion could only be
settled by war. The defense of both of these sentiments can best be described by the
leaders of both Americas. In a letter written to George Robertson, a friend of Abraham
Lincoln, Lincoln wrote, 
You are not a friend of slavery in the abstract. In that speech you spoke 
of 'the peaceful extinction of slavery' and used other expressions indicating your belief
that the thing was, at some time, to have an end. 
Since then we have had thirty six years of experience; and this experience 
has demonstrated, I think, that there is no peaceful extinction of slavery 
in prospect for us...The Autocrat of all the Russias will sooner resign his
crown, and proclaim his subjects free republicans sooner than will our 
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American masters voluntarily give up their slaves..Our political problem
is 'Can we, as a nation, continue together permanently--forever--half 
slave, and half free?' The problem is too mighty for me. May God, in his 
mercy, superintend the solution. (Lincoln pg. 1)
During Jefferson Davis's Inaugural Address as president of the Confederate States of
America, he spoke,
If a just perception of mutual interest shall permit us peaceably to pursue 
our separate political career, my most earnest desire will have been 
fulfilled. But, if this is to be denied to us, and the integrity of our territory 
and jurisdiction be assailed, it will but remain for us, with firm resolve, 
to appeal to arms and invoke the blessings of Providence on a just cause.(Davis pg. 3)
Both men and their countries alike felt their side would prevail and it would be evident
that they were bolstering the right convictions. The Confederates were so confident in
their impending victory over the Union that President Davis received a letter from then
Governor of North Carolina, John W. Ellis, proposing "Declare by law that every soldier
who has or will enlist in our Army, and who at the time of such enlistment was not a
slave owner or landholder, shall receive a bounty or pension at the end of the war, upon
being honorably discharged, one negro slave and fifty acres of land."(Ellis pg. 1) This
no doubt showed the Rebel's positive view towards the outcome of the war. Volunteers from
both sides rushed to aid the fight. Over 2.1 million men fought for the Union army, while
900,000 volunteered to fight for the Confederacy.(Goldfield pg. 464) The strong advantage
for the North was the large amount of available resources at their disposal, whereas the
South was an infant nation and had no formal army and limited 
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resources to rely on. It was those invaluable resources that lead the North to victory
over the starved and depleted South in April 1865.
In the past 135 years since the Civil War's end, a search for cause and blame for the
conflict has been examined by economists, politicians, and historians. No precise issue
can be faulted for the clash between the North and the South and the ensuing secession of
the slave states, but when looked at from a broad perspective the problems caused by
tariffs on trade, fights for state sovereignty, and the abolition of slavery brought
tension within the Union that could only be settled by war. In a fight that ended with
over one million casualties to the men who participated in the battle for equality of all
men and a nation once again united, we learned that each perspective side of the Civil
War was ready to fight to the death to defend what they believed in and prove to their
opponent that they would not be intimidated by idle threats against their opinions. 
Bibliography
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Works Cited
Primary Sources:
Davis, Jefferson. Jefferson Davis's First Inaugural Address. Confederate Documents. 1996.
Rice University. 09 04. 2001. . 
de Rothschild, Salomon . The Causes of the Civil War. . . Jewish History. 06 04. 2001. .
Ellis, John W. Letter to Jefferson Davis. . 18 02. 2001. 06 04. 2001. . 
Gordon, Maj. Gen. CSA, John B. Reminiscences Of The Civil War. Causes of the Civil War. .
Civil War Home. 06 04. 2001. .
Lincoln, Abraham. Letter to George Robertson. . . Civil War Home. 06 04. 2001. 
Secondary Sources:
Golden, Randy. Causes of the Civil War. About North Georgia. . North Georgia. 06 04.
2001. . 
Goldfield, David. The American Journey: A History of the United States. Upper Saddle
River: Prentice Hall, 2001. 
Swogger, Michael J. American Civil War. Causes of the Civil War: Taxes and Tariffs. 26
02. 1998. Suite 101. 06 04. 2001. .