How Did Slavery Cause The Civil War?

Last Updated: 01 Nov 2022
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Why did the Civil War happen?

The Civil War happened because of the secession of the southern states from the Union.

The question of why the Civil War happened is a complicated one, and it can be difficult to understand all of the factors that led up to it.

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The first reason for secession was that the North and South had disparate economic interests. The Northern states mainly relied on free labor, while the Southern states relied on slavery. As time went on, these two different approaches to labor became increasingly incompatible.

Additionally, many people believed that slavery was morally wrong, so they opposed it. These people were called abolitionists. Abolitionists encouraged slaves to run away from their masters and join them in freedom in northern cities like Boston and New York City—this caused tensions between abolitionists and slave owners in the South because they feared losing their slaves would lead to a drop in profits from their farms or plantations.

This tension grew throughout the 1850s until finally it erupted into war when Confederate troops attacked Fort Sumter in South Carolina on April 12th 1861.

 

What is Slavery?

Slavery was a legal practice in the United States prior to the Civil War. The Constitution allowed for the continuation of slavery, and for a time, it was a major part of the economy. However, many people opposed slavery as an institution. The Civil War was fought over this issue, and after four years of fighting, slavery was abolished throughout the nation.

 

Wasn't the Civil War about states' rights?

No, the Civil War wasn't about states' rights.

The South, which was a slave-owning society, seceded from the Union in 1860 because they believed that Lincoln's election meant he would outlaw slavery and end their way of life. The North wanted to preserve the Union and keep slavery illegal, but they did not want to force the South back into the Union by military force. The North wanted nothing to do with slavery itself—they just wanted it outlawed everywhere in America.

 

So why did slavery cause the Civil War?

The Civil War was a conflict between the United States and its then-fellow states that began in 1861 and lasted until 1865. The war was fought over slavery, which was an important part of Southern culture at the time. When Abraham Lincoln won the 1860 presidential election, he immediately began to take steps toward abolishing slavery. These actions angered many Southerners, who wanted to keep their slaves. In response, eleven states seceded from the Union (the U.S.) and formed their own country: the Confederate States of America.

The war was fought between these two sides over several issues—among them, whether or not slavery should be allowed in America and whether or not states should have more power than they do under our current system.

 

Slavery was the driving force behind the Civil War

In the years leading up to the war, slavery had become a hot topic in America. People were starting to question whether or not slavery was moral and, if so, whether or not it should be allowed. The Southern states believed that owning slaves was essential to their economy and way of life; therefore, many of them didn't want anything to change.

The Northern states were much more liberal about slavery and wanted it abolished completely. They felt that people who were born into slavery should be free at birth and able to do what they wanted with their lives.

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How Did Slavery Cause The Civil War?. (2022, Nov 01). Retrieved from https://phdessay.com/how-did-slavery-cause-the-civil-war/

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