It is a common assumption that Civil War in America was primarily caused by existence of slavery, which tore the country apart. However, things were not as simple as they seem to be on the surface. The abolition of slavery was only one of the reasons of cultural and social clash between North and South.
The first reason concerned the sphere of economy which differed greatly in two parts of the country. Southern cotton and tobacco plantations versus northern factories and industrialization. Northern politicians introduced strict taxation laws for over the sea goods, meaning that southern community was forced to buy things produced by northern concerns being unable to pay high taxes for imported goods.
Another stumbling stone appeared to be so called ‘States’ rights. Southerners considered that the Federal government treated them unfairly introducing unfavorable laws and believed that they could ‘nullify’ any passed law. However, northerners were concerned that such policy of ‘nullification’ weakened the country inside, thus, doing everything possible to prevent South from distancing.
Finally, slavery was a key point to argue about. Southerners still lived according to belief that people could be ‘owned’ and ‘traded’. Such policy was quite embarrassing, considering the process of quick development of technologies and changing manual labour to machinery. Moreover, most religious groups in the North opposed the idea of a person as a thing. More and more states entered the Union where owing slaves was forbidden. In addition to this, northerners promoted books and newspapers urging and helping slaves to run away from their masters. Southerners considered this policy as an attempt to weaken the influence of Southern states in the Federal government.
Thus, differences in progressive northern and regressive southern mentality became the core reason for the Civil War and slavery was a casus belli.
References
Causes of the Civil War. (n. d.) The American Civil War Center.org. Retrieved from
http://www.tredegar.org/caused-civil-war.aspx
