The Civil War was a product of a great divide between two sides of an unfortunately broken country. The North and South found contrasts in various areas; from the economy, to culture, to standpoints on slavery. In the eyes of few, there is a belief that the war could have been avoided. However, due to the differing cultures and beliefs of the North and the South, the division in the country was far too large, thus rendering the war inevitable. The most prominent cause of the Civil War was the issue of divergent cultures and economies between the North and South. The two sides operated in very different ways. The South relied on agriculture to provide most of their profits, with 80% of laborers finding work on farms, therefore increasing their demand for slaves. The North, on the other hand, was far more industrial. The number of farmers in Northern states decreased from 70% to 40% between 1800 and 1860. This drop in the agricultural industry resulted in less of a need for slaves. Additionally, the North and South differed in political views. While the South was more democratic, the North gravitated more towards the Republican party. Also, Northerners were more likely to obtain an education, gaining jobs in professions such as business and engineering. Another cultural aspect that lacked similarity between the North and South was that of transportation. The North had the luxury of easier transport with the invention of railroads, whereas the South relied more on waterways. Another cause of the Civil War was the differing viewpoints on slavery.
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The South strongly believed in the importance of slavery, most likely because this part of the United States relied on it far more than the North. According to the 1850 Census, the North had 236 slaves, compared to 3,200,364 in the South. As stated above, the North was more industrial than the South, which made slavery less of a necessity. Furthermore, the North was home to 7 in 8 immigrants that came to the America, placing more reliance on slavery than immigration. Moreover, there were more abolitionists in the North. John Brown, for instance, was a violent abolitionist from Connecticut. According to a biography on PBS.org (“John Brown,” n.d.), “Brown went to a proslavery town and brutally killed five of its settlers,” then, “he and 21 other men -- 5 blacks and 16 whites -- raided the federal arsenal at Harper’s Ferry,” in an act of protest against slavery. This, along with a growth in the voices of other abolitionists, planted a seed of fear in the South. Southerners were afraid that they would be removed from the Union if they kept their slaves, and as a result seceded before the North would have a chance to do so. This was a major event that led to the Civil War. Conversely, some may say that the war could have been avoided. Perhaps if more compromises were put into action, the issues between the two sides could have been swept under the rug, and the United States could go on in their divided state. However, there were attempts to repair these problems with multiple compromises. For example, the Compromise of 1850 was put into place to settle issues over the balance of slave and free states in the Union. It annexed California into America as a free state, in addition to the introduction of the Wilmot Proviso into the South, among other
The South strongly believed in the importance of slavery, most likely because this part of the United States relied on it far more than the North. According to the 1850 Census, the North had 236 slaves, compared to 3,200,364 in the South. As stated above, the North was more industrial than the South, which made slavery less of a necessity. Furthermore, the North was home to 7 in 8 immigrants that came to the America, placing more reliance on slavery than immigration. Moreover, there were more abolitionists in the North. John Brown, for instance, was a violent abolitionist from Connecticut. According to a biography on PBS.org (“John Brown,” n.d.), “Brown went to a proslavery town and brutally killed five of its settlers,” then, “he and 21 other men -- 5 blacks and 16 whites -- raided the federal arsenal at Harper’s Ferry,” in an act of protest against slavery. This, along with a growth in the voices of other abolitionists, planted a seed of fear in the South. Southerners were afraid that they would be removed from the Union if they kept their slaves, and as a result seceded before the North would have a chance to do so. This was a major event that led to the Civil War. Conversely, some may say that the war could have been avoided. Perhaps if more compromises were put into action, the issues between the two sides could have been swept under the rug, and the United States could go on in their divided state. However, there were attempts to repair these problems with multiple compromises. For example, the Compromise of 1850 was put into place to settle issues over the balance of slave and free states in the Union. It annexed California into America as a free state, in addition to the introduction of the Wilmot Proviso into the South, among other