What Started the Civil War

Civil War Tensions The American Civil War was not the culmination of one specific issue, which tore North and South, but rather the culmination of a perfect storm of issues and incidents that formed together to make war between the states "inevitable" (Foote, 1958, p. 29). The issues were various and complex: among them was the primacy of "states' rights" in the Constitution, and the usurpation of those rights (so it was felt by many a Southerner) by the Central government.

This feeling was directly tied to the outcome of the Mexican-American War, which resulted in the annexing of large territories to the West. Would they be slave states or free states? If one followed the Missouri Compromise line, there should be no question. Slave states were below, free above. But with John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry and the frenzy of the abolitionist caused at fever pitch, the issue of slavery was more divisive than ever.

Added to that the onset of the California gold rush, the push for California to be admitted to the Union as a "free state" and the fact that the Missouri Compromise line ran right through the middle of California, and suddenly the question of who had the right to dictate state policies (not indicated by the Constitution) -- the state itself or the central government, and matters quickly came to a head. Abraham Lincoln won the Presidency in 1860 on a vow to oppose slavery and uphold the Union.

Upon his election, several southern states seceded in protest. They felt that the overreach of the central government into the affairs of individual states was an abuse of power. This paper will analyze and discuss these claims and other issues surrounding the Civil War.

The significant political, economic and social events that led up to the Civil War were (politically) the election of Lincoln to the White House, who promised in so many words to override "states' rights" by enforcing the Union (from which men like Jefferson Davis believed states had the right to withdraw, as granted them implicitly by the Constitution); (economically) the low tariffs set by Southern Congressmen, which upset Northern Industrial magnates, the Homestead Act and the rise of the transcontinental railroad -- both of which could be seen as maneuvers by Northern states to take over the Midwest in a move to block out Southern influence and expansion to the West (Egnal, 2001, p.

30); and (socially) the issue of slavery (flamed to inferno-like levels by men like the radical abolitionist John Brown). The key figures, events and battles of the war were numerous. Jefferson Davis led the South as President of the Confederacy. His response (firing on Ft. Sumter) after Lincoln dared to send a ship of "reinforcements" in spite of Davis' warning that the federals must withdraw from the fort (which was on Southern territory), initiated the conflict. Northerners rallied behind Lincoln, whereas before they had begrudged him the office.

(Lincoln had essentially provoked Davis in order to whip up support). This "battle" started it all. But more followed. U.S. Grant made an impact as one of the first Union generals to effectively and consistently resist and attack Southern armies (his victory at Ft. Donelson was pivotal in breaking the Southern stronghold along the North-South border region). And the blockade of Southern ports by Union ships effectively destroyed the South's cotton trade, leaving the states no real means of supporting themselves economically.

Davis anticipated Europe coming to the Southern States' aid, believing them to be as dependent upon the trade as the States were. But Europe had a surplus of cotton in store and felt no urgency in coming to the assistance of the Confederacy. England essentially balked at the proposal (Foote, 1958). The war continued on land, with the devastating Battle of Gettysburg in summer 1863 serving as a fatal blow to Southern power. The Confederacy's General Lee was defeated there by General Meade of the Union.

Lee lost nearly 30,000 in the fight (McPherson, 2007). Sherman's march through Atlanta "to the Sea" in an act of total war on the South brought the Confederacy to its knees and Lee finally surrendered to Grant at Appomattox in spring 1865. The Southern economy had been devastated both by the Union blockade and the total warfare conducted by Sherman in his "March." The Southern army, wasted and with no chance of replenishing itself, saw the writing on the wall. This writing was confirmed by a number of other economic factors, as well.

The fact that the main banking entity of the South was located in the North did not help. Small, independent banks in the South offered printed money, which was as good as offering an I.O.U., but Southerners were reluctant to accept these as there was no guarantee that the receipts were backed by gold. The South suffered from terrible inflation as a result. The North also printed money, but promised that it would ultimately be backed by gold and bonds.

When the government needed still more money it instituted the income tax. Thus, the North created the IRS (Economy in the Civil War, 2014). The South had no means of doing such a thing as their Constitution afforded the Confederate Constitution no such right. What the Constitution of the Union stated, however, never stopped the Central government from maneuvering around it when the need became evident. This maneuvering, of course, had been a main cause of tension between the North and the South.

The Emancipation Proclamation, which freed the slaves to leave the South and join the Union army, was a pivotal blow to the strength of the South as well. Free black men like Frederick Douglass, who escaped to freedom before the Civil War and penned an autobiography which became a popular best seller, campaigned for abolition. They formed the American Anti-Slavery Society and movements such as these undoubtedly had an impact on American thought and disposition towards the continuation of slavery.

Women and blacks (free and slave) gave voice to the abolitionist movement. Harriet Tubman.