Therefore, since the issue of slavery is not addressed in the Constitution, the southern states believed that they had the right to permit slaves, and that any action by the Federal Government that infringed on that right was illegal. Some of the conflicts were issues such as slavery, state’s rights, land ownership, the election of a new President, and the economy. Like it or not, in 1861 slavery was legal. While there were a few other minor issues, they were neither the stated reasons for secession nor are considered by historians to be major factors for secession. Margaret Mitchell captured the “mint julep school” of antebellum Southern history—happy, indolent, and ignorant slaves protected by their kind and benevolent masters—in her novel Gone with the Wind, published in 1936, and the epic film version of 1939 engraved it on the popular imagination. That’s what the “history” books, so called, told us and it is certainly what the “news media” has screamed about as the cause of the War for decades now. The Civil War was caused by a myriad of conflicting pressures, principles, and prejudices, fueled by sectional differences and pride, and set into motion by a most unlikely set of political events. Slavery was a major cause of the war but it was more than set them free or keep them enslave. The abolishment of slavery wasn’taccomplished because slavery kept the South running. How Did Slavery Cause the Civil War: Reality of the Institution. Yet many Americans—including, mostly, my fellow Southerners—claim that that the cause was economic or state’s rights or just about anything other than slavery. Slavery played the central role during the American Civil War.The primary catalyst for secession was slavery, especially Southern political leaders' resistance to attempts by Northern antislavery political forces to block the expansion of slavery into the western territories.Slave life went through great changes, as the South saw Union Armies take control of broad areas of land. For those astonished by the facts I have mentioned above, I hope you are inspired to do further reading on the subject. Southern states needed the institution to help with their main source of economy; agriculture. Slavery was the overwhelming cause of the war, and had been the dominant divisive issue in American politics for decades. The Civil War is known as the bloodiest war in the history of America, and any discussion on this subject will not be complete without the mention of slavery. Noll and others highlight the significance of the religion issue for the famous phrase in Lincoln's second inaugural: "Both read the same Bible and pray to the same God, and each invokes His aid against the other." There were many causes of the Civil War, but the religious conflict, almost unimaginable in modern America, cut very deep at the time. What caused the Civil War? Or that the Confederacy was fighting to preserve slavery. Below we will discuss the impact slavery had in leading up to the war as well as some of the differences between the two sides that led to such a great divide. The great historian Shelby Foote was right when he said that slavery "was not the true cause of the war. Or that the Civil War was a war to end slavery. It wasn’t their slaves they were defending, it was their homes against the specter of slaves-gone-wild. The Civil War and Reconstruction (HIST 119)Professor Blight begins this lecture with an attempt to answer the question "why did the South secede in 1861?" The Civil War began April 12, 1861, but the reasons for the war had been brewing for a long time before that date. While there were many political and cultural differences between the North and the South that contributed to the American Civil War, the main cause of the war was slavery. Because slavery formedto opposing societies and slavery could not be abolished the Civil War wasinevitable. The American Civil War is also referred to as the war between the Northern and Southern States or the Rebellion War that began in 1861. "Slavery was the Cause of the Civil War." The court historian’s reasoning is that as South Carolina makes a to-do about slavery, slavery must have been the cause of the war. African American slaves picking cotton on a plantation #2 Slavery. The opposing belief is that the Civil War was fought over states’ rights. “I never heard of any other cause of quarrel than slavery.” In contrast to the post-war efforts to downplay the importance of slavery, it dominated the thinking and the rhetoric of southern statesmen in 1860-1861. Across America, 60 percent to 75 percent of high … Northern states, however, were primarily manufacturing states and did not have as great of a need for slavery. In other words, the main cause of the war was State's Rights over that of the Federal Government. What caused the Civil War? Since the Civil War did end slavery, many Americans think abolition was the Union’s goal. The only way to avoidthe war was to abolish slavery. That is really sloppy logic, and historically indefensible. Abolition came later. It goes a long way in explaining why only one in three Confederate soldiers were slaveholders, or came from slaveholding families. A review of Slavery Was Not the Cause of the War Between the States (Charleston Athenaeum Press, 2014) by Gene Kizer, Jr.. The idea that the Civil War wasn't about "really" about slavery is confederate apologist hogwash. Myth #1: The Civil War wasn't about slavery. In all my growing up years I was taught that the War Between the States was fought over slavery. The war resulted from causes unrelated to slavery and abolition. Although the North and the South were part of the same Union they were very different in many ways. Slavery was the major cause of the American Civil War, with the South seceding to form a new country to protect slavery, and the North refusing to allow that. According to the map in document “An” all slaves and cotton were in the southern states. A flat discount of 15% 3 Causes Of The Civil War Besides Slavery Essay on all first-time orders. Buy Nothing Day Essay: Get Only from the Best. As South Carolina was the first to secede, its secession document probably was the model for other states. Historians generally agree that other economic conflicts were not a major cause of the war. Another famous Civil War-era speech that states slavery was the cause of the Civil War was the “Cornerstone Speech” by Alexander Stephens, the Confederate Vice President. Suffice it to say that the onset of the Civil War was much more complex than the average American today thinks it was. First of all, the most obvious cause of the war was slavery. Two Major Causes of the Civil War During the early 1800’s, the United States was having difficulties and conflicts between the states, which would eventually lead to war. For instance, in the case of America, many scholars have associated Civil War with slavery. The African Americans were viewed as laborers and forced to work. 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