the causes of American Civil war
American Civil war is known to many. The war lasted from 1861 to 1865 and divided the nation into two; The North and the South. Although it is one of the most researched and analyzed war, there is still a lot of debate about the cause of this war. Some historians claim that the primary cause of the tragic American Civil war was the institution of slavery. They claimed that the states in the South heavily depended on slave labour to help in the agricultural sector.
On the other hand, Northern states were mainly industrial states and therefore did not needed slave labour. The opposing notion was that civil war caused by union fighting over state’s rights. Southern states claimed that the federal government is taking away their rights to the by abolishing slavery and diminishing their voices. Other historians also argued that it wasn’t of the slavery was being abolished but rather the fact that the federal government had powers to do so. The fundamental basis of this dreadful war can be found in raw of nerves of history of united states, veiled under a century of growth and expansion but uncovered the bitter rivalry over tariffs, land constitutional rights and institution of slavery. This paper focuses on the causes of civil war with particular reference to the institution of slavery as the main cause.
In order to comprehend the causes of civil war, it is necessary to explore the bitter dissension revolving slavery, the fugitive slave law and counting slaves with an intent of taxation and representation. During the era of Federalist, other issue rose that split the sections. The frontman of the Northern manufacturer, Alexander Hamilton championed for a strong federal government capable of managing the trade, creating a national bank, funding the national debt, protecting their industries from foreign competition and suppressing challenges to the federal authorities. On the other hand, Thomas Jefferson became the advocate for the Southerners, which hold onto controlling the authority of the federal government and opposing plans devised to favour the industrialized North at their expense. After a short duration of peace and unity, in the wake of the war of 1812, the elemental quarrel between the North and the South started again. Henry Clay revived Hamilton’s program using United States bureaucracy to sue to the interest of the Northern states. In 1819, the grapple to accept Missouri resulted in what Jefferson referred to as fireball at night and ignited regional passion far of the point of tolerance.
The dispute persisted over a protective tariffs Bank issue, and federal financial movements. Andrew Jackson temporarily quitted the Bank of the United States with his powerful message of secession. Around 1948, the squabble was mainly focused on the institution of slavery. North was against slavery since they didn’t need slave labour while South wanted to maintain slavery, for their agricultural production. The South was for the idea of the extension of slavery. Several acts were made. They were starting with the Wilmott Proviso and then the admission of Californian and eventually the famous Kansas-Nebraska act of May 30th 1854. The law was made to let Kansas and Nebraska decide whether or not to abolish slavery. Kansas-Nebraska acted as a repeal of the 2020 Missouri Compromise. The compromise prohibited institution of slavery in North
Slavery played a significant role in this conflict; then, it was a sensitive issue. Constitution was a bit tolerant concerning this institution for the sake of uniting the nation. It also included a clause on slavery. Slaveholding states, mostly the southerners regarded slavery as cruel and illegal. Although they didn’t have a solution to this problem, they somehow hoped that it would come to an end. The idea of abolishing was not included in the constitution even though many individuals started considering it. On the other hand, the law secured is necessary guarantees to the institution for as long as it lasted.
Without constitution support, many statements believed that the vice would diminish with time. At the time, the government entrenched the idea that Africans were lesser humans compared to the whites. Several states came up with laws that supported the enslavement of Africans. However, the Federal government would step in to act in violation of this provision that encouraged slavery. Those states that are for the idea of slavery saw the federation government’s actions as a threat to their “state’s rights”. This resulted in many states seceding.
Another cause of the civil war in South Carolina’s case. Carolina states and other slaveholding states were frustrated with the steps taken by the federal government, and they opted to leave the union. South Carolina stuck to the principles that it had state’s rights to make its own decisions without intercession from the federal government. The state argued that some states in the North have in a long time refused to adhere to the constitution which expected them to return the fugitive slaves that belonged to the southerners.
The northerners, however, did not support the institution of slavery at all. They enacted laws which did not include the practice of slavery or the return of the fugitive slaves. They came up with laws that thwarted the implementation of slavery. They discharged fugitive slaves from slave labour. The southerners saw this as a deliberate violation of the constitution. They assumed that the Northerners had assumed the rights in which they decided on the domestic affairs of other institutions. They also accused the northern states of having violated the constitution by denouncing the slavery institution that was guarded by the natural government. Moreover, the southerners also argued that Northern states had allowed the formation of societies that supported the abolition of slavery, thus disturbing peace and tranquillity in their states. Finally, Northerners were accused of aiding the slaves to escape Souths.
Abolition of institution of slavery by the non-slave holding states was said to be undermining the southerners who relied on slavery and made them seem like a minority state in the union. Slavery abolition mainly exacerbating the hatred between the two sections; southerners were frustrated with the reforms of the northern states who wanted to do away with slave labour. From this, it can be contested that indeed slavery played a crucial role in spiking the civil war. Both sides advanced their reasons, and since each one them was ready to stick to their principles, hell broke loose and civil war began.