Introduction
The American Civil War stands out as a period during which most people lost their lives in the entirety of the history of the United States of America. Having commenced in the year 1861, the American Civil War lasted for four years until 1865. Different analysts, academicians, historians and scholars have provided diverse explanations with regard to the events or issues that brought about the American Civil War.
However, this fact notwithstanding, the conflict between the northern and southern states is widely considered as an issue that played an instrumental role towards the war. For this particular paper, a comprehensive analysis of the specific factors and/or issues that caused the American Civil War shall be done.
Body of Evidence
As briefly outlined in the introductory section, the conflict between the southern and northern states was the main cause of the American Civil War. During the 1850s, opposition against slavery and slave trade was on the rise in the United States of Americamore so in the northern states like New York and Oregon. However, most of the southern states were adamant that slavery should not be abolished; this was mainly due to the fact that slave trade was predominant in the southern states like Kansas and California.
Soon after assuming office in the year 1861, President Abraham Lincoln was dedicated towards curbing the escalation of slavery particularly in northern states where the practice was not extremely unpopular.(Beyer, 72) However, most southern states benefited from slave trade and were therefore agitated by Abraham Lincoln’s quest to end the practice.
The southern states formed the ‘confederacy’ block while the northern states joined to form the ‘union’. These two blocks formed the main platform for the American Civil War. Having been outfought, the confederacy states surrendered in the year 1865 marking the official culmination of the American Civil War. Apart from slavery, another issue that played an instrumental role towards the commencement of the American Civil War is the taxation of cotton.
The southern states provided stiff opposition towards the taxation of cotton; however, President Abraham Lincoln was not supportive of this approach. A combination of all these factors served as catalyst for the war during which more than half a million soldiers lost their lives. (Beyer, 87)The southern states under the auspices of the ‘confederate’ movement were assertive that they would rule themselves and therefore sought cessation. However, other countries in the world recognized the ‘union’ from the north as the legitimate government as opposed to the ‘confederacy’. This was also a factor that weakened fighters from the southern states since they did not have any form of support from overseas.
Conclusion
Even though different historians, academicians and other scholars have provided diverse perspectives with regard to the American Civil War, it is clearly evident that the conflict between the southern and northern states was the main driving force behind the war. The bone of contention between the ‘union’ states and ‘confederate’ states was brought about by the fact that the latter did not support slavery as compared to the former. Furthermore, taxation on cotton was also a major issue that caused a massive conflict between the southern and northern states. However, the southern states could not match the north in terms of preparedness for the war and therefore surrendered in the year 1865.
References
Beyer, M. American Civil War, Rosen Classroom, 2006
