What Led To The Civil War Essay

664 Words3 Pages

While slavery is considered to be the underlying cause of the American Civil War, there were other factors which also contributed to the war. In the beginning, Americans embraced slavery which was considered to be a necessary evil. By the time the Civil War took place, the slavery institution had already started to collapse with many Whites questioning the practice. In this regard, slavery was not the sole cause of the Civil War. On the contrary, several factors and events all worked to drive the country to war.
One of the most important factors that led to the Civil War was the sectional divide that existed on the issues of slavery. The American Revolution was one of the instances that created a crisis in the slavery institution. Some slaves took advantage of the struggles and chose to oppose their masters and fight on Britain’s side. The promise of freedom lured them. Since a large number of these slaves had decided to desert their masters, the slavery institution in some parts of the Southern states started to collapse.
Another factor that caused more strain on slavery was the issue of liberty. Once the United States declared itself an independent state after its victory during the revolution war, it started to place special emphasis on freedom. …show more content…

While it was practiced in the North, the practice had not taken root as it had in the South. Conversely, the southern elite considered slavery to be a sign of affluence, a factor that made them support the slavery institution. The people in the South wanted to continue exploiting African Americans while those in the North states resented the practice, arguing that slavery stunted economic growth and technological development in the South. The clashing views between Northerners and Southerners were considered to be an important source of tension, which eventually led to the

Open Document