The American Civil War
The American Civil War was the main cause for concern and revision in American history. Due to the country's fundamental sociopolitical structure and lack of structured rules to help it through, the federal government faced extreme difficulties and was on the verge of collapse. The American Civil War, which began on April 12, 1861, when Confederate soldiers attacked the Union troops at Fort Sumter, South Carolina, and ended on April 9, 1865, when Robert E. Lee surrendered the last substantial Confederate forces. (McPherson, 214). Three key issues emerged as the causes of war including states' rights versus an indestructible Union (federal government), the economic difference (an agrarian vs. an industrialized economy) and ideological difference of social morality of slavery versus Free Labor. The war was mainly between the south and north. This assignment attempts to establish a single overriding factor that prompted the war by assessing all the other factors.
States' rights versus Federal government
The U.S. had experienced massive differences since its revolution as two camps emanated, one arguing the need for greater states' rights while other calling for a powerful federal government (Draper, 211). The American laws were not well structured and sufficient to address the emanating confusion on the states versus federal rights issue. The federal government operated on the Articles of Confederation which weakly joined thirteen states together. The America's binding Constitution was drafted in secrecy to cater for the states versus federal interrelationship. The main factor stifling the federal and states interrelationship was the argument supports states that federal government lacked power and jurisdiction to stop slavery. People from the south refuted the legality of the federal government to stop slavery (Rozwenc, 90).
An agrarian versus an industrialized economy
The economic difference between the north and the south was another influential factor that triggered the war. The South's economy was heavily dependent on the plantation farming which heavily relied on the cheap slave jobs (Doyle, 39). The northern America had established itself as an industrial hub of the nation. It undertook major processing of the plantations produces from the southern states. Moreover, the people of the north had grown cosmopolitan and adopt diverse cultures due to increased urbanization process. As the South held on the white supremacy ideology to ensure that perceived people from inferior races worked on their lands, the north had adopted multi-culture and social integration. The northern people purchased supplies from the people of south which they processed and released into the international markets.
Slavery versus Free Labor
Several arrangements were continually growing in the America that proposed termination of slavery and eventual replacement with Free Labor. The growing number of people thought that slavery was immoral, unjust and was not permitted within America's territory and globally. American union forces were also fighting and conquering new states which later declared free of slavery. For instance, David Wilmot designed the Wilmot Proviso in 1846 that prohibited slavery in the new territories that the USA acquired (Anderson, 132). There were an increased number of the northerners who were opposed to slavery and were later acknowledged as Abolition Movement. This group was crusading against the harsh rules on the slaves through publications and many other approaches. The election of Abraham Lincoln to the presidency finally ignited the war as many southerners thought Lincoln was hugely opposed to slavery (Waugh & Gary, 217).
Conclusion
In summary, there were three major causes of the American civil wars, states' rights versus the federal government, an agrarian versus an industrialized economy and lastly slavery versus free labor. Each contributed to the build-up of tension amongst Americans. However, the main cause apparently was the perceived immoral value of slavery, and many argued for the adoption of Free Labor. All the causes had something do with cheap slave labor. The people from the south thought that slavery was part of their lives and without it, plantation economy would eventually stagnate. It took a battle that claimed the lives of 620,000 soldiers who succumbed to combat injuries, accidents, starvations, and even epidemics to enable the building of a united nation, America.
Works cited
McPherson, James M. Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era. New York: Oxford University Press, 2011. Internet resource.
Anderson, Dale. The Causes of the Civil War. Milwaukee, WI: World Almanac Library, 2004. Print.
Doyle, Don H. The Cause of All Nations: An International History of the American Civil War. New York: Basic Books, 2014. Print.
Waugh, Joan, and Gary W. Gallagher. Wars Within a War: Controversy and Conflict Over the American Civil War. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2009. Internet resource.
Draper, John W. History of the American Civil War. New York: Harper, 1868. Print.
Rozwenc, Edwin C. The Causes of the American Civil War. Lexington, Mass: D.C. Heath, 1972. Print.
