Causes of the Civil War

 

Abraham Lincoln

Causes of the Civil War
There were many different Causes of the Civil War between the Union of the North and the Confederacy of the South. The two major causes of the Civil War were slavery and States Rights. The economy in the south was based on the cash crop plantation system which depended on the institution of slavery whereas the economy in the north was based on manufacturing and industry and was not reliant on slaves. The south were concerned about the dominance of the northern states following the election of Abraham Lincoln and the Republican party and the possible infringement of states rights.

Causes of the Civil War
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th American President who served in office from March 4, 1861 to April 15, 1865. This article provides details of the Causes of the Civil War using facts and a pre-Civil War Timeline.

List of Causes of the Civil War: Overriding Causes - Why was the Civil War inevitable?
The sheer size of the United States resulted in different cultures and lifestyles in the North and the South that were dictated by geographic and climatic differences producing raw materials that led to either agrarian (farming communities) or industrialized city dwellers. The following list of overriding Causes of the Civil War provide a quick overview of the paramount reasons for the Secession of the southern states and the outbreak of the American Civil war (1861-1865). Why was the Civil War inevitable?:

  • Political Causes - The issue of "States Rights" federal power versus sovereign state power

  • Economic causes - Different commercial interests in the North and South

  • Culture Clash - Different lifestyles of the North and South, city life versus farm life

  • Social Status - Slavery fostered an elite, feudal society in south with social status taking precedence over making money

  • Growth - Rapid entrepreneurial path in the North, slower rate in the south

  • Social Reformation - Sparked by the Christian revivalist movement referred to as the Second Great Awakening

  • Reform Movements - The emergence of reformist societies such as the Abolitionist Movement calling for the Emancipation of slaves

  • The Industrial Revolution - New inventions that changed America

  • Political Parties - The emergence of new political parties, such as the Republican Party

Causes of the Civil War: Slavery
The initial contributing factors and causes of the Civil War date way back to actions taken at the 1787 Constitutional Convention. The first was the Three Fifths Compromise concerning slavery and the second concession was the Slave Trade Compromise which allowed the continuance of slave auctions throughout the south.

List of Causes of the Civil War: Specific Reasons and Causes
There were also specific reasons, political issues and militant actions that should also be added to the list of causes of the Civil War. The following list of Causes of the Civil War provide a quick overview of specific events in American history that led to the conflict. A short summary and its significance as one of the causes Civil War are explained with access to detailed facts and information about all of these important events in the history of the United States - pre-Civil War Timeline. 

Causes of the Civil War: 1793-1846 - Pre-Civil War Timeline

Causes of the Civil War Fact 1:17931793 Fugitive
 Slave Act		The first 1793 Fugitive Slave Act was passed guaranteeing the right of a owners to recover escaped slaves and help in the return of fugitive slaves
 
Causes of the Civil War Fact 2:1800Eli Whitney
Cotton Gin		The invention of the Eli Whitney Cotton Gin had a huge impact on slavery turning cotton into a cash crop using the slave plantation system of farming and re-invigorating slavery in the southern states
 
Causes of the Civil War Fact 3:1800Second Great AwakeningSocial Reformation  was sparked by the Christian revivalist movement referred to as the Second Great Awakening
 
Causes of the Civil War Fact 4:1820Missouri CompromiseThe 1820 Missouri Compromise was reached admitting Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a non-slave state, retaining the balance between the entry of slave and free states into the Union
 
Causes of the Civil War Fact 5:1828Tariff of AbominationsThe South, being predominantly agricultural and reliant on the North and foreign countries for manufactured goods, saw the high taxes in the  "Tariff of Abominations" as damaging to their economy
 
Causes of the Civil War Fact 6:1828South Carolina ExpositionThe 1828 South Carolina Exposition was written by John C. Calhoun protesting against the laws passed in the "Tariff of Abominations" and threatened secession from the union
 
Causes of the Civil War Fact 7:1831Nat Turner's RebellionBloody, retaliatory acts of revenge were inflicted on slaves throughout the South due to hysteria caused by Nat Turner's Rebellion
 
Causes of the Civil War Fact 8:1832Nullification CrisisThe sectional interests of the North and the  South were brought into open conflict for the first time during the 1832 Nullification Crisis
 
Causes of the Civil War Fact 9:1832Underground RailroadThe formation of the network known as the Underground Railroad which was dedicated to helping slaves escape
 
Causes of the Civil War Fact 10:1833Abolitionist MovementThe establishment of the Abolitionist Movement calling for the Emancipation of slaves
 
Causes of the Civil War Fact 11:1836Gag RuleThe "Gag Rule" was passed banning all petitions calling for the Abolition of Slavery, remaining in place between 1836 and 1844
 
Causes of the Civil War Fact 12:1839Amistad Slave Ship revoltThe Amistad Slave Ship revolt in which Africans were defended by John Quincy Adams
 
Causes of the Civil War Fact 13:1845Annexation of TexasThe Annexation of Texas when Texas was admitted as a slave state
 
Causes of the Civil War Fact 14:1845Manifest
Destiny		John O’Sullivan initiated the phrase 'Manifest Destiny' encompassing the idea that Westward Expansion as a divine right of the American people - highlighting the extension of slavery issue
 
Causes of the Civil War Fact 15:1846Mexican-American WarThe outbreak of the Mexican-American War due to unresolved border disputes between the Republic of Texas and Mexico

Causes of the Civil War: 1793-1846 - pre-Civil War Timeline

 

Presidential Seal

 

List of Causes of the Civil War: Specific Reasons and Causes (1846-1861)
Our list of Causes of the Civil War continues with a quick overview of specific events in American history from 1846-1861. A short summary of each historical event, and its significance as one of the causes Civil War, are explained together with access to detailed facts and information about all of these important events in the history of the United States - facts via a pre-Civil War Timeline. 

Causes of the Civil War: 1846-1861 - pre-Civil War Timeline

Causes of the Civil War Fact 16:1846Popular Sovereignty SlaveryPopular Sovereignty and Slavery - The doctrine of Popular Sovereignty was used in debates concerning the slavery extension issue in new territories acquired in during the Annexation of Texas and the Mexican-American War
 
Causes of the Civil War Fact 17:1846Wilmot Proviso of 1846The Wilmot Proviso of 1846 broke the "Gag Rule", opening the slavery issue to be debated in Congress
 
Causes of the Civil War Fact 18:1848Alta CaliforniaThe differences between the anti-slavery factions and the pro-slavery factions erupted following the Mexican-American War when Mexico ceded Alta California and New Mexico to the United States in the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.
 
Causes of the Civil War Fact 19:1850Compromise
of 1850		The Compromise of 1850 allowed California to be admitted as a free state but left the decision on the extension of slavery in the New Mexico Territory and Utah Territory to be decided by the people under the doctrine of popular sovereignty
 
Causes of the Civil War Fact 20:18501850 Fugitive Slave ActThe 1850 Fugitive Slave Act was passed as part of the Compromise of 1850 as a concession to the South, increasing penalties against fugitive slaves and the people who helped them
 
Causes of the Civil War Fact 21:1852Uncle Tom’s CabinAbolitionist Harriet Beecher Stowe publishes Uncle Tom’s Cabin and 300,000 copies are sold within a year of publication stirring powerful anti-slavery sentiments
 
Causes of the Civil War Fact 22:1853Whig PartyThe Collapse of the Whig Party and the split between the "Conscience Whigs" and the "Cotton Whigs"
 
Causes of the Civil War Fact 23:1853Democrat
Party		The Whigs from the south moved to the Democrat Party
 
Causes of the Civil War Fact 24:1854Free-Soilers PartyThe Whigs from the north moved to the Free-Soilers Party
 
Causes of the Civil War Fact 25:1854Republican PartyThe Free Soilers moved to the Republican Party that was formed  to oppose the extension of slavery
 
Causes of the Civil War Fact 26:1854Kansas-Nebraska ActTension over the issue of States Rights with the passing of the 1854 Kansas-Nebraska Act allowing the two new territories to determine whether they would be free-states or slave-states by Popular Sovereignty
 
Causes of the Civil War Fact 27:1854Bleeding Kansas Violent confrontations between Anti-slavery and Pro-slavery militant activists reached a state of a low intensity civil war known as Bleeding Kansas
 
Causes of the Civil War Fact 28:1857Panic of 1857The Panic of 1857 had a disastrous effect in the northern states but the
Southern states believed that the nation were now strongly dependent on their economy and would become more amenable to the needs of slave owners
 
Causes of the Civil War Fact 29:1857Dred Scott DecisionThe result of the Dred Scott Decision was that Congress could not prohibit slavery from spreading into the western territories angering Northern anti-slavery groups but applauded by the Southern states
 
Causes of the Civil War Fact 30:1858Lincoln-Douglas DebatesThe Lincoln-Douglas Debates on the subject of slavery in which Abraham Lincoln gained national recognition, that enabled him to win the presidency in 1860
 
Causes of the Civil War Fact 31:1859Raid on Harper’s FerryThe events surrounding John Brown’s Raid on Harper’s Ferry aroused anger in both the North where John Brown was viewed as a heroic martyr to the Abolitionist but condemned as a dangerous traitor in the South
 
Causes of the Civil War Fact 32:1860Abraham LincolnAbolitionist Abraham Lincoln was elected president representing the Anti-Slavery Republican Party raising fears in the south over their political power held by Lincoln as soon as he assumed the presidency in March 1861
 
Causes of the Civil War Fact 33:1860First State to Secede

South Carolina  was the First State to Secede from the Union based on past events, their desire to protect their states rights and to safeguard the institution of slavery, which they believed was essential to their economy

 
Causes of the Civil War Fact 34:1860Crittenden CompromiseThe Crittenden Compromise failed. It was aimed at assuring the continuation of slavery in states where it already existed
 
Causes of the Civil War Fact 35:1861Corwin AmendmentThe Corwin Amendment was a simpler last ditch compromise for protecting slavery in existing slave-states. It failed to prevent the Secession of the South
 
Causes of the Civil War Fact 36:1860/1Secession of
the South		The Secession of the South when 11 Southern states rebelled against the government and withdrew from the United States to form an alliance that was called the Confederate States of America
 
Causes of the Civil War Fact 37:1861The Confederacy The establishment of the government of the Confederate States of America in order to ensure states' rights and preserve the institution of slavery
 
Causes of the Civil War Fact 38:1861Fort SumterAttack on Fort Sumter in which Confederates under Gen. Pierre Beauregard open fire and the Civil War begins

Causes of the Civil War: 1846-1861 - pre-Civil War Timeline

Causes of the Civil War - President Abraham Lincoln Video
The article on the Causes of the Civil War provides A pre-Civil War Timeline and an overview of the Civil War that dominated his presidential term in office. The following Abraham Lincoln video will give you additional important facts and dates about the political events experienced by the 16th American President whose presidency spanned from March 4, 1861 to April 15, 1865.

 

 

 

Causes of the Civil War
 
Interesting Facts about Causes of the Civil War for kids and schools
Summary of the Causes of the Civil War in US history
The Causes of the Civil War, and major events in US history
Reasons for the Civil War for kids and schools
Fast facts on the Causes of the Civil War - pre-Civil War Timeline
Causes of the Civil War for kids and schools - pre-Civil War Timeline
Abraham Lincoln Presidency and Causes of the Civil War and pre-Civil War Timeline for schools, homework, kids and children

 Causes of the Civil War - US History - Facts - Major Event - Causes of the Civil War - Definition - American - US - USA - Causes of the Civil War - America - Dates - United States - Kids - Children - Schools - Homework - Important - Facts - Issues - Key - Main - Major - Events - History - Interesting - Causes of the Civil War - Info - Information - American History - Facts - Historical - Major Events - Causes of the Civil War