The American civil war occurred in the United States between the North (Union) and South (Confederacy) between 1861 and 1865. The war led to massive destruction of property and loss of lives. The war started due to many differences between the North and the South regarding economic development, social and political opinions. The war can be seen as a revolution from the northern perspective and as a rebellion from the southern perspective. The push to abolish slavery acted as the foundation of the war, although other factors also contributed to the issue. For example, the issue of racial discrimination regarding political representation played a key role in dividing the two sides.
Before starting the American civil war, there was a big division between the way people lived in the North and South. People in the South owned large fertile pieces of land, growing crops such as cotton and tobacco, which brought many returns (Barbar et al. 2017, 22). The middle-class people in the North owned small pieces of land, and thus their only way of surviving was through low-level jobs in the manufacturing industry (Barbar et al. 2017, 30). The difference in social status between the two factions created a division between them. Another cause of division was different political ideologies between the North and South (Barbar et al. 2017, 31). The southerners had political ideologies that showed so much pride in their land. The political division rose after the southerners showed more commitment to the paternalistic system and, by extension, the regionalism that was in the South. The north political ideologies were centered towards industrialization.
The American war was also caused by other factors. It was from the different political ideologies that triggered the start of the American war (Barbar et al. 2017, 18). People in the North idealized the republican concept as their political ideology, and it consisted of factory workers, former black slaves, and other northern Protestants. The republican concept was to ensure the abolition of the slave trade. It opposed the slave trade in America before 1861 and was resisted by people from the South because of its stand on matters of slavery (Brill 2021). The history of slavery fits into the situation because it was the main dividing factor between the North and South. Slave labor was the main source of labor in southern plantation farms. The northerners continued to look for ways to fight the slave trade because they felt slavery was inhuman and unjust. The difference in opinion about slavery created tension between the two sides fueling the American war.
Slavery was among the main factors between 1776 and 1860. In American history, that led to the American civil war’s eruption (Brill 2021). After America’s independence, slavery continued to be legal in all the 13 British American colonies, mainly the slaves were Africans (Holcomb 2021). The slaves worked in plantation farms that were mainly in the South. The large tracts of fertile land in the South created an economy that only depended on agriculture for income. The invention of the cotton gin led to an economy that only depended on farming. Thus, there was an increasing need to use cheap slave labor. After the agrarian revolution, agricultural land was put into use, and there was a growing need to increase the labor that was to work on the farm fields. The increased production of agricultural products in the South made the North fear the South’s prosperity for increased development competition.
The North and South economy comprised of various economic activities. The North’s economy was diversified to include small-scale farming and industrialization (Holcomb 2021). The North’s industries enjoyed its labor from European immigrants who offered their services at a cheap cost, and they did not see any reason to use slave labor (Holcomb 2021). This made the northerners start acting laws and forming organizations that condemned slave labor and advocated for abolishing the slave trade. The North’s act to go against slave labor created a great division with the southerners as the southerners felt their livelihood was threatened, which sparked the start of the American civil war. An Act of 1854 named The Kansas-Nebraska Act was another factor that increased the tension between the South and North (Holcomb 2021). Through the formulation of the act, it led to the evolution of two colonies that the states would use the popular vote system to determine the state of the territories. People in Kansa who were supporting slavery triggered the issue trickling from Missouri so that Kansas would support slavery (Holcomb 2021). This intrusion from Missouri led to a clash in Kansas, leading to massive bloodshed. The fight also extended to the senate, where a pro-slavery senator from South Carolina beat an anti-slavery senator from Massachusetts, further accelerating the rift between North and South.
Another event that led to a great division between North and South was Abraham Lincoln’s election. The two political parties at the time, i.e., the Democrats and Whigs, both had a significant role in the civil war. The Democratic Party had factions in the South and the North. Conflicts were surrounding Kansas made the Whip party transform into the Republican Party (Holcomb 2021). In the North, the Republican Party was seen as a party that needed to transform the American economy and not as a slavery party. In the South, the Republican Party was seen as a divisive movement as it went against slavery practiced in the South (Brill 2021). The elections of 1960, in which Abraham won the presidential election on the republican ticket, created a clear division in America (Holcomb 2021). The southerners believed Lincoln didn’t have their interests at heart and only favored northern interests. This belief created a foundation for the American war.
The states and federal rights were another factor that created the division between the North and South (Brill 2021). After the revolution, two parties emerged with different roles in the government. One of the camps believed the government was to have more control, while the other demanded the states to have more rights. The first government formed after the American Revolution was based on articles of confederation. The states formed a loose confederation with a weak federal government, and when problems reigned the administration, the Articles’ weaknesses made the leaders come together and form a new constitution. The defenders of states’ rights were absent in the meeting, and many felt that the new constitution compromised the states’ rights to continue operating independently. They wanted the states to decide which federal acts they were willing to accept (Barbar et al. 2017, 30). This misunderstanding led to the rise of nullification, where the states were to rule federal rights unconstitutional. The federal government declined the idea of nullification, which made the southerners feel disrespected, thus leading to the emergence of the American war (Barbar et al. 2017, 17). Another dividing factor between the North and South was the abolitionist movement. The people in the North became more concerned about the slave activities in the South.
The abolitionist movement started gaining sympathy in the North as it was championing for end of slavery. People in the North started seeing slavery as an inhuman act, and it was morally wrong. The abolitionists came with many ideas, and some of its members, like Frederick Douglas, were calling for an immediate end of slavery. Several events occurred that accelerated the abolition in the 1850s. Harriet Beecher wrote a novel that opened the realities of slavery to many people (Holcomb 2021). Also, the fundamental rights of slaves were presented in the Supreme Court by Dred Scott. Some abolitionists decided to go the chaotic way of presenting their issues, as can be witnessed in the Pottawatomie massacre, in which five pro-slavery settlers were executed (Barbar et al. 2021, 41). Abolitionists’ actions angered the people of the South, thus creating great tension between North and South, which erupted in the American civil war.
The Republican Party was formed to fight slavery in 1854. It was fighting for black people who were forced to work on farms as slaves, and Abraham Lincoln used it to win the American presidency. The modern republic has a typically more conservative ideology and tends to prefer low taxes for citizens. In conclusion, the American civil war helped to shape current America. The civil war was mainly in the fight against slavery, and this was achieved because the war slavery was abolished. The slaves in the South were treated according to their skin color and were subjected to inhumane conditions, and after the war, this was abolished. The civil war was the foundation through which other civil rights movements would push for reforms. However, fear of similar bloodshed limited the extent of the damage that the government was willing to take to accept reforms.
References
Barbar, Fatiha, Houria Hassani, and Abdelkarim Mabrouki. “Slavery in America.” PhD diss., Ahmed Draia University-Adrar, 2017.
Brill, Kristen, ed. Elite Confederate Women in the American Civil War: Lived Experiences in the Nineteenth Century. New York: Routledge, 2021.
Holcomb, Julie L. Exploring the American Civil War Through 50 Historic Treasures. London: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2021. Web.