The Causes of the Civil War, Research Paper Example

The causes behind the outbreak of the Civil War included disagreements over the rights of States as opposed to the rights of the Federal Government, and issues over the expansion or abolition of the practice of slavery. When war broke out in 1861 these two issues had become intertwined.

The importance of slavery as a cause of the Civil War can not be under estimated. While there had always been conflict between advocates of slavery and abolitionists the issue did not become a truly divisive one until a decision had to be made about whether new States or territories would permit slavery or not (Foote 34). Slave owning states became concerned that if slavery was not extended into new territories then the practise would eventually die out; and this would be to the detriment of the South. Consequently, slavery and State’s Rights become closely entwined,

As such the economic importance of slavery to the South became closely tied to issues of political independence and the moral rights of States to decide how their individual regions should be governed. Both sides argued from a moral position. The South argued that the Founding Fathers had wanted individuals, and by extension their States, to be in charge of their own affairs and had written the Constitution accordingly (Potter 35-40). The North countered by arguing that all men, slave and citizen alike, were included in the phrase ‘All men are created equal’. When it appeared that the North was going to dominate the federal government in the 1850’s, and limit the introduction of slavery into the new territories, Southern resentment began to peak (Potter 485). Consequently, slavery became an issue of political and moral importance during this period and this important change led to the outbreak of the Civil War.

The election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 brought events to a head. Lincoln’s views on slavery were well known even before the presidential campaign had begun (Potter 485). With his election it appeared to the South that no new slave states would ever be allowed into the Union; this would have eventually ended slavery entirely given time (McPherson 254). Consequently, with slavery, morality and politics impossibly entwined it seemed that the only alternative for the South was succession from the Union.

Slavery was the most important cause of the Civil War, but only because the issue had become entwined with other important concerns such as the rights of States versus the rights of the federal government.