Causes of the Civil War

Causes of the civil war

The civil war raged on for four years, but why was there even a civil war? The obvious reason is the differences over slavery between the north and the south. Another reason was the election of Abraham Lincoln, mainly because Southerners believed he was in favor of Northern interests. Yet another reason was the secession of South Carolina from the Union which directly angered the North and made other Southern states secedes as well. One last reason was the attack on Fort Sumter which was the last straw the north took before declaring war.

Ten years before the Civil War even started the issue of slavery began with the admission of California to the Union and whether it would be a slave state or a free state. This was solved by having California send one pro-slavery and one anti-slavery senator to Washington D.C. Then there was the Fugitive Slave Act which was pretty much annulled by the personal liberty laws. Every meeting that congress had the main issue was slavery and slave rights etc. Such as what would Kansas or Nebraska be a slave state or a free state? Then came along the Dred Scott Decision which increased the tensions between the north and the south, because it deprived free African Americans of citizenship if they were descendants of slaves. The last major slave associated action was John Brown's Raid. This was when John Brown raided a U.S. Arsenal at Harper's ferry, Virginia. There was a lot of controversy whether Brown's punishment should have been execution or life in prison. Some other effects of John Brown's raid were increased fears that abolitionists would inspire slave revolts in the south and increased tensions between the North and the South.

The election of Abraham Lincoln was yet another big reason for the civil war. A southern newspaper said, “A party founded on the … hatred of African slavery is now the controlling power.” This showed the south's disapproval of Lincoln. How could the south survive with four...