by pandorasconviction

Created on: May 17, 2010   Last Updated: May 18, 2010

Causes of the Civil War
      
      The American Civil War was fought between the Northern and Southern States between 1861 and 1865.  The casualties of the Civil War reached record highs; the death toll is higher than any previous or subsequent war.  The Union casualties were over 300,000, and the Confederate casualties reach over 250,000 (Davis, 2004).  Why did so many people give their lives to the Civil War?  What caused brothers and fathers to fight against one another?  

The Civil War was fought due to a number of reasons.  The most well known reason for the Civil War is slavery, but other factors, such as the economy and states' rights played a vital role in the conflicts that led to the Civil War.  The economy in the Northern States was thriving, the southern states argued that secession would "liberate the South and produce the kind of balanced economy that was proving so successful in the North" (Carnes, 2008).  While the South was being impacted negatively by the North's economic system, the number of abolitionists in the North was increasing, which caused the states to be further divided.  The abolitionist groups were taking a stand against slavery, claiming that slavery was a harmful, evil institution, and wanted the South to abandon the institution of slavery.  The Southerners felt as if the Northern states were violating the Southern state's rights and decided that secession, and the drafting of a new constitution for the Confederate States was a logical course of action.  The Southern States seceded and called themselves the Confederate States of America.  These states consisted of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia (Carnes, 2008).  South Carolina was the first among the Confederate States to secede.

In the years before the Civil War, America experienced a significant economic growth.  The birth of factories in 1790 created more jobs and more production for The United States.  The growth of industry reshaped the American society; "the importance of foreign commerce was lessened" (Carnes, 2008).  The emergence of the middle class caused the divisions between the classes to become blurred, America became more self sufficient, and the rise of

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