The debate about abolition had been brewing across the country for some time when the Civil War broke out. Today many people feel that division over slavery was the cause of the Civil War.

Some scholars feel that slavery would have died a natural death due to advances in technology that later made much human labor redundant.

The Civil War broke out because the succeeding states wanted to preserve their sovereign states' rights.

Two post to my blogging partner…Dawn…

Part 1

The American Civil war was both a horrible, vile war and a historical victory. There are many reasons the war was declared against the southern states as, at the time, there were many legislative battles over issues that differed between the cultures of the North and the South.

As a southern born American, I can tell you with great certainty that there are, to this day, residuals that remain from that time still planted firmly in the age old families with those good ole' southern traditions. I was born in Florida and have family in Mississippi, Georgia, and Louisiana...two of my three daughters were born in South Carolina...the first state to succeed from the Union. The state of South Carolina was made the example of when the Union troops come to call...another story in it self...

The Civil War was documented extremely well. To tell the complete story of the countless documented events would fill volume upon volume of books! But, for the purpose of this discussion I believe there is a synopsis that may serve well to shed light on some of the 'whys' behind the civil war...

The level of growth of the 'civil' society in the northern states was growing at an exponential rate. More densely populated cities, superior technologies, health care(as it was) and just an over all better quality of life. This was a true contrast compared to the Plantation life style of the southern states where life progressed much slower and old traditions(that still exist today)were the mainstay of the social norm. These people liked things the way they were and would violently resist any... "outsiders comin' down hea to be makin' changes..."...be that as it may, the Americans in the north had great demands for the vast resources painstakingly harvested from the land by the southern Americans. It was not just the cotton or the wool or the prized Oak and Pine woods used to create the exquisite chests and table sets and chairs by Bostonians' it was every good or service the South had to offer.
The economics and Social differences between the divided Americans did play a role in the coming Civil War but it was not a major key issue.

The standard width between the two rails on railway lines were wider in the southern states than in the north so trains from the south and trains from the north could not traverse from north to south or vise-versa...just an example of the issues that divided the two factions and a good illustration of the lack of cooperation in areas of commerce.

Economic and social issues were just one part. There were many legislative battles that were being constantly fought and argued that ended in stale fruitless resentment. The United States federal government did not give into the desires of many of the states wishing to keep more power for themselves and the federal government believed that it did not have enough authority and the bitter argument for Nullification drove the wedge even deeper. This is a key issue.

The old traditions of the Southern Americans viewed 'Negros' as property and non-human. Some masters that owned slaves were as good to their 'property' as their dogs but many were brutal and vile to the black men and women and their children that were under such horrible bondage...(the history recorded and the accounts of the brutality against these people is very difficult to comprehend)... The conflict between 'slave states' and 'non-slave states' drew the war closer and closer as the North began to grasp the truth that these people were 'men and women', not animals, and should be included in the protections of the constitution and the bill of rights.
This did of course outrage the good ole' boys into a hate driven rage...this was a major key issue!! The United States government was not going to allow slavery to exist in a free nation...at all cost it could not be permitted to continue.

The straw that broke the camels back for the Southern states was the election of Abraham Lincoln as President in 1860...eight southern states had already seceded from the union but after Lincolns election to the presidency the conflagration had began! South Carolina was in the led...

From 1861 to 1865 and some 620,000 thousand dead and tens of thousands more maimed the 'War Between the States' finally come to an official end....the resonance of that war;however,still vibrates in the south and history will read that all men of all races are free!!

Part 2

:::As America began to expand, first with the lands gained from the Louisiana Purchase and later with the Mexican War, the question of whether new states admitted to the union would be slave or free. The Missouri Compromise passed in 1820 made a rule that prohibited slavery in states from the former Louisiana Purchase the latitude 36 degrees 30 minutes north except in Missouri. During the Mexican War, conflict started about what would happen with the new territories that the US expected to gain upon victory. David Wilmot proposed the Wilmot Proviso in 1846 which would ban slavery in the new lands. However, this was shot down to much debate. The Compromise of 1850 was created by Henry Clay and others to deal with the balance between slave and free states, northern and southern interests. One of the provisions was the fugitive slave act that was discussed in number one above. Another issue that further increased tensions was the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854. It created two new territories that would allow the states to use popular sovereignty to determine whether they would be free or slave. The real issue occurred in Kansas where pro-slavery Missourians began to pour into the state to help force it to be slave. They were called “Border Ruffians.” Problems came to a head in violence at Lawrence Kansas. The fighting that occurred caused it to be called “Bleeding Kansas.” The fight even erupted on the floor of the senate when antislavery proponent Charles Sumner was beat over the head by South Carolina’s Senator Preston Brooks.::::

The slavery issue and the taxation battles on cotton and the election of an anti-slavery president brought the war to full fruition...there were several reasons for the war and slavery was one of the major causes. It was not the fight for balance of powers in the states, per say, but the fight over what states would be allowed by law to enslave men...slavery flies in the face of everything about freedom and the federal government had a duty to protect the constitution against the tyranny wrought by slavery and slave holders...the major cause for this war is the volatility that arose from the Abolitionist movement against the slave holders in the south...

James....

I think you touched on the three main issues that sparked Americas Civil War

1. To Abolish or continue slavery depending on what side you were on - North or South.

2. The States Rights - the states wanted to call their own shots and clearly this was mainly southern states that wanted to keep slavery and influence the last reason the war started.

3. Carrying slavery into the Western territories and states was a huge issue of division between the North and the South.

There were some other nice points mentioned in the reasons above but most agree these were the main three and I totally agree that Lincoln's election helped start it because even though he didn't want the conflict to start yet, he was the one that stirred the hornets nest in the debates with his views on slavery. However, the South fired on Fort Sumpter which would of seemed to begin the conflict more then the North declaring war as you mentioned. Linclon was just leaving Illinois to his Presidential Post in Washington when it happened. His comment was "Don't give them anything".

States rights and slavery.

That`s a lot you wrote.

I do believe that this particular topic of conversation, even after so many decades, remains a hotly debated "thorn in the toe" for both the north and the south. Unfortunately,the bad blood between the factions remains to this day. Racisiam thrives and all the ill and evil that accompanies it follows suit....the civil war was not only necessary but an evil as well. Was there an inherent ballance that came from the the loss of so many lives? Did dark skin people really find the freedom that they have the right to? I prefer to be color blind.

James...

Slavery, states rights.

There was really one cause. Rich southern slave owners manipulated the uneducated public in the south to support the war against their own interests.

Absolutely right. This states right nonsense really had nothing to do with the war. It was just a smoke screen.

It was all about money

A key event was the attack by abolitionist John Brown. He led a raid on the federal armory at Harpers Ferry, Virginia (today West Virginia), intending to start a slave liberation movement that would spread south through the mountainous regions of Virginia and North Carolina.

This scared the hell out of white southerners.

Slave revolts tend to do that in a slave-owning society.

Industry vs. Farming. ...
States' Rights. The idea of states' rights was not new to the Civil War. ...
Expansion. As the United States continued to expand westward, each new state added to the country shifted the power between the North and the South. ...
Slavery. ...
Bleeding Kansas. ...
Abraham Lincoln. ...
Secession. ...
Activities.

Abraham Lincoln's election was a major cause. Southerners thought there was no room for negotiating with an abolitionist. War was their only option.

The book Uncle Tom’s Cabin started a wave of abolitionism that swept the country. Southerners knew this was only going to continue.

It was slavery. Pure and simple.

True. The country was born in sin. Once slavery became so institutionalized and vital to the southern economy, it was going to take a war to end it.

It has ended in other places without civil wars. We inherited slavery from the British. No civil war there.

They didn't have an entire region of their country completely dependent on slavery for economic survival.

Harriet Tubman and the underground railroad were a major factor.

The Dred Scott Decision showed the south that the legal system was turning against slavery.