Why Was The American Civil War Inevitable

The American Civil War was inevitable, it came as a consequence of many divisive factors. There were many factors that led to the Civil War. Those factors divided the nation in two, North and South, or in terms of the Civil War, the Union and the Confederacy. Two major factors that pushed the nation of America toward civil war were sectionalism and the state’s rights debate. This led to discourse in the nation, which eventually caused several southern states to believe that by 1861, they had no choice but to secede from the Union. Consequently, the Civil War then ensued. As the United States of America grew, sectional differences between the Northern region and the Southern region increased. This sectionalism was not only because of pride in one’s region, but also geographical, political, and economic influence, and beliefs. The North was located in a region where the weather was cold and the land was not fertile. As a result, they became industrialized and began working in factories. Consequently, they did not need slaves because they needed to do work for themselves. In contrast, the South was located in a region where the weather was warm and the land was fertile and good for farming. They became centered on agriculture, with an agriculture based economy. They owned large plantations in which they grew cash crops, which was a lot of work so they needed slaves or so they thought. To continue cheap production of crops, especially cotton, they got slaves. The North had a industry and manufacturing based economy while the South had an agricultural based one. The North did not need slaves and believed it was morally wrong, this brought about the creation of abolitionists, people who wanted to abolish slavery. Abolitionist attacked the offending party, the South, which caused Southerners to be angry that people were criticizing their way of life. This caused a division in the nation. The North passed many laws against slavery and sectional tensions increased. The South believed the North wanted to destroy their economy and way of life. The economic sectional differences were caused by geographic sectional differences. The economic sectional differences led to political sectional differences. Tariffs were passed that protected Northern industries against foreign competition; these high tariffs were favored by business leaders. However, Southerners disliked and did not favor these high tariffs. The South traded with foreign countries a lot and did not like paying higher fees to protect Northern businesses. For example, American tariffs on cotton clothing imported from England meant high prices which cut demand. As a result, England imported less cotton from the South. Therefore, the South was at a loss while the North would benefit, which angered Southerners and caused sectional tensions to increase. Another aspect of sectionalism was population. The North had 22 million people while the South had 9 million people, so the North held more voting power while the South held less voting power. The North believed the federal government should have more power, while the South believed in states holding more …show more content…
Two of the main factors were sectionalism and the debate of state’s rights. These factors divided the nation in two. Sectionalism between the North and South increased as the United States of America grew. Sectional tensions grew by economical differences, political views; and the North attacking the South on slavery. A great divide between the North and the South grew until they were fully divided and the South saw no choice but to secede. The South wanted state’s rights, weak federal government and strong state government. The North wanted the opposite. The South kept feeling unrepresented and as if their voice was not heard, and state’s rights, their only solution was rejected. This led to even more sectionalism and it cause secession. Both factors led to the South seceding. Lincoln viewed secession as an act of rebellion and wanted to preserve the Union. Secession was viewed as illegal, and so the war started. To get back the Union fully, the war had to happen. The two divisive factors consequently led to the Civil War. Therefore, the Civil War was caused by sectionalism and the debate over state’s