Causes and Key Events of the American Civil War

Introduction: A Perfect Storm of Tensions

The American Civil War was not the culmination of one specific issue that tore North and South apart, 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 perceived usurpation of those rights by the central government — a feeling widely held among Southerners. This feeling was directly tied to the outcome of the Mexican-American War, which resulted in the annexation of large territories to the West. Would they be slave states or free states? If one followed the Missouri Compromise line, there should have been no question: slave states below, free states above.

But with John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry and the abolitionist cause raised to a 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 became urgent. 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, arguing that the central government's overreach into the affairs of individual states was an abuse of power. This paper analyzes and discusses these claims and other issues surrounding the Civil War.

Political, Economic, and Social Causes

The significant political, economic, and social events that led up to the Civil War were interconnected. Politically, Lincoln's election to the White House alarmed those who believed he would override states' rights by enforcing the Union — from which leaders like Jefferson Davis believed states had the implicit constitutional right to withdraw. Economically, the low tariffs set by Southern congressmen upset Northern industrial interests, while the Homestead Act and the rise of the transcontinental railroad could be seen as maneuvers by Northern states to dominate the Midwest and block Southern influence and expansion into the West (Egnal, 2001, p. 30). Socially, the issue of slavery — inflamed to inferno-like levels by radical abolitionists such as John Brown — proved to be the most explosive of all the fault lines dividing the nation.

Key Figures, Events, and Battles

The key figures, events, and battles of the war were numerous. Jefferson Davis led the South as president of the Confederacy. After Lincoln sent a ship of reinforcements to Fort Sumter despite Davis's warning that federal troops must withdraw from the fort — which stood on Southern territory — Davis ordered the fort fired upon, initiating the conflict. Northerners who had previously begrudged Lincoln the office rallied behind him; Lincoln had, in effect, provoked Davis in order to consolidate Union support. That opening engagement set everything in motion.

On the battlefield, Ulysses S. Grant emerged as one of the first Union generals to effectively and consistently engage Southern armies. His victory at Fort Donelson was pivotal in breaking the Confederate stronghold along the North-South border region. Meanwhile, the Union blockade of Southern ports devastated the South's cotton trade and left the Confederate states with little means of sustaining themselves economically. Jefferson Davis had anticipated that Europe — particularly England — would come to the Confederacy's aid, believing European powers to be as dependent on Southern cotton as the South itself. However, Europe held a surplus of cotton in store and felt no urgency to assist the Confederacy; England essentially declined the proposal (Foote, 1958).

The war continued on land, with the Battle of Gettysburg in the summer of 1863 serving as a fatal blow to Southern power. Confederate General Robert E. Lee was defeated there by Union General George Meade, and Lee lost nearly 30,000 men in the fighting (McPherson, 2007). William T. Sherman's march through Atlanta and on to the sea — a campaign of total war against the South — brought the Confederacy to its knees. Lee finally surrendered to Grant at Appomattox Court House in the spring of 1865.

Conclusion: Inevitable Conflict

The Civil War was a perfect storm of events, issues, and ideas that culminated in a protracted conflict between Southern and Northern armies. At issue was the expansion of slavery into the West, the right of states to dictate their own destiny, and the overall shape of the Union's economy — including the question of who would control the new frontier, Northern industrialists or Southern agrarians. Lincoln's ascent to the White House so aggravated existing tensions that Southern states began withdrawing from the Union, viewing him as a usurper of constitutional order. A titanic clash between opposing ideologies and forces was inevitable, as both Davis and Sherman recognized before war was even formally declared (Foote, 1958). The various factions fell into place, and the breaking point arrived when Lincoln sent reinforcements to Fort Sumter, betting that Davis would fire first and bear the blame for starting the war.

References

Economy in the Civil War. (2014). The Civil War. Shmoop.

Egnal, M. (2001). The Beards were right: Parties in the North, 1840–1860. Civil War History, 47(1), 30–56.

Foote, S. (1958). The Civil War: Fort Sumter to Perryville. Random House.

McPherson, J. (2007). This mighty scourge: Perspectives on the Civil War. Oxford University Press.