The American civil war is an historian event that will live to be remembered by many people living in the United States of America. This is due to the fact that it affected the lives of many Americans as well as other immigrants in the country. The speech made by Lincoln in March 1861 indicated that there was no enmity between the people living in the United States of America. There were several questions that arose from the contents of his speech. In reality, there were several items that led to disagreements between the people in the south and those in the north. This clearly indicated that there was some enmity between the north and the south. This major reason why Lincoln was wrong is that he did not connect the actual occurrence of events to reality. Instead, he only interpreted appearance without pointing out the real situation of the country at that point.
The civil war started in the year 1861 and came to an end in the year1865. This war consisted of the conflict between the people of the south and those of the north. The war escalated after the presidential elections of 1861 had been held. The causes of this war have been faced with a lot of controversies in the United States of America due to the differences in the reports made by various historians in the country. Initially, there was slavery that had taken place in the country, which had mostly affected the black people. The members of the Republican Party were very determined to end the era of slavery in the country. They tried to do this by supporting their presidential candidate, Abraham Lincoln. They thought that Lincoln would fight against slavery. However, the whites in the south did not want Abraham to win the presidential elections. They therefore threatened to secede the confederation if the Republican Party won the elections. After Lincoln had won the presidential elections, many southern people thought of disunion as the only left alternative. On the other hand, the people in the north advocated for union. Despite this, some leaders advocated for the end of slave trade since they felt that it was affecting the lives of the black people.
The other reason that led to the occurrence of the civil war is the differences in the political and social environments in the north and south. The southern part of the country consisted of lands that were mainly occupied by large plantations. One of the major plantations that were found in these areas was the cotton plantations. The farmers in these areas required cheap labor. This is the major reason why they used slaves as labor to safe the cost of production. On the other hand, the people in the north lived an industrial life that brought them together as one union. This shows that the social life in the southern part was characterized by less union than in the north. This led to the emergence of the war since the northern people wanted equality between all races in order to end slave trade.
Another reason that led to the civil war is the fight between the civil and the federal rights in the country. One form of the government was powered by the articles of confederation. However, this form of governance was not strong enough to meet the political needs of the American people. As a result, a new constitution was formed after a series of meetings made by several political leaders. After the constitution was made, there were opponents who felt that the constitution did not provide for certain rights that were important, thereby calling for its nullification. However, this was denied by the federal government, which led to conflict.
The other reason was based on which place was free and which one was a slave state. This raised issues of sovereignty in many states. Despite the formation of a compromise in 1850, there were still issues regarding the right to decide whether to be a free state or a slave one. A treaty formed in the early 1820s barred the practice of slave trade in the lands that were under the Louisiana Purchase. In Kansas, some people called Ruffians came to revive slave trade in the area. This therefore caused violence that led to the shedding of a lot of blood in the area. This is the reason why this event was named “The Bleeding Kansas.”
Tariffs were also a major reason why the civil war occurred. In the early years, the southern people had much say in most of the economic operations since they were the major members of the Democratic Party. The south had influence on the level of tariffs made. Due to this, they fixed the level of tariffs at a lower rate. This caused inequality between the north and the south since the north paid higher tariffs than the south. The other thing that angered the people in the north is the fact that the lowering of the tariff did not promote any industrial growth. However, the southern leaders were firm to their stand. This action therefore raised controversies from the north, leading to the emergence of conflicts between the two parts of the country. An increase in the tariffs was implemented after the Republicans had taken power.
In conclusion, the civil war happened mainly because some people from the north felt that the issues at hand could only be solved by fighting. The above arguments show that the major causes of the civil war can be generalized into two broad categories; slavery and the election of Abraham as president. After four years, the civil war came to an end and some of the problems were partly solved. The problem of slave trade gained attention from the authorities due to the pressure that had piled from those who advocated against it. There were many people who were injured while others lost their lives. According to many historians, this war has caused the death of many participants in the American history. From this war we can therefore learn that nations should restrain from wars since they cause fatal injuries to agents of economic development.
