The civil war was a devastating American war that pitted the north against the south, resulting in over 600,000 American casualties, making it the deadliest war in United States history. The war officially lasted from 1861-1865, but animosity between the Union north and Confederate south had been building up for decades leading to the war. The causes of the civil war are numerous and complex, but the four basic ideas behind it were their differing economies, slavery, states rights, and secession.
The North and South’s economies were based on vastly different industries. The South’s warm climate and fertile soil with long summers and mild winters led to the South’s strong agricultural based economy. Farmers discovered early that cash crops …show more content…
The north’s rocky geography and harsh winters with short growing season didn’t allow for profitable farms like it did in the South. Instead, the North became an industrialized region, where steam powered factories produced textiles that used the souths raw cotton. The problem with the differing economies rested on the fact that the south felt that they were being unfairly taxed. Taxation had been granted to the United States federal government through the United States Constitution. Article 1, Section 8, Clause 1 of the US constitution states that ““The Congress shall have Power to lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises”. However, when the Tariff of 1828 was passed, it raised tariffs on goods in south by as much as 50%, thus gaining the nickname Tariff of abominations. Since it raised taxes on imported goods, it benefited the North by discouraging the South from buying goods that weren’t manufactured in the North. The south felt that this was unfair, with …show more content…
The north believed in a free labor system where everyone had a chance to be successful if they worked hard in their industrialized manufacturing economy. The south believed in slave labor, where planters could get rich from free forced labor in their agricultural dominated economy. The north believed that slavery was a flawed system that created an aristocratic planter class, not allowing for self made success. The south believed that their economy and success relied on slavery, and that without it, the whole economy would collapse. The north believed that secession was unconstitutional, while the south believed that it was constitutional. Both the north and south believed that their ideology was the correct one. The civil war then, was a violent way for each side to try to force their way of life on the other, and prove that their way of thinking was the
The North and South’s economies were based on vastly different industries. The South’s warm climate and fertile soil with long summers and mild winters led to the South’s strong agricultural based economy. Farmers discovered early that cash crops …show more content…
The north’s rocky geography and harsh winters with short growing season didn’t allow for profitable farms like it did in the South. Instead, the North became an industrialized region, where steam powered factories produced textiles that used the souths raw cotton. The problem with the differing economies rested on the fact that the south felt that they were being unfairly taxed. Taxation had been granted to the United States federal government through the United States Constitution. Article 1, Section 8, Clause 1 of the US constitution states that ““The Congress shall have Power to lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises”. However, when the Tariff of 1828 was passed, it raised tariffs on goods in south by as much as 50%, thus gaining the nickname Tariff of abominations. Since it raised taxes on imported goods, it benefited the North by discouraging the South from buying goods that weren’t manufactured in the North. The south felt that this was unfair, with …show more content…
The north believed in a free labor system where everyone had a chance to be successful if they worked hard in their industrialized manufacturing economy. The south believed in slave labor, where planters could get rich from free forced labor in their agricultural dominated economy. The north believed that slavery was a flawed system that created an aristocratic planter class, not allowing for self made success. The south believed that their economy and success relied on slavery, and that without it, the whole economy would collapse. The north believed that secession was unconstitutional, while the south believed that it was constitutional. Both the north and south believed that their ideology was the correct one. The civil war then, was a violent way for each side to try to force their way of life on the other, and prove that their way of thinking was the