The American Civil War - Essay Example

The American civil war started in the year 1861 and ended in 1865. It left over 618,000 casualties over that period (Huston 104). This meant that they required cheap labor, and with the invention of the cotton grin in 1793, cotton became more profitable since it was easier to separate the seeds from the cotton.

The north purchased raw cotton and converted it into finished goods using the cotton grin, leading to a disparity between the two. As a result, substantial differences in economic attitudes were realized. Since the period of the revolution, differences emerged between those arguing that the federal government needed to have more control and those arguing for greater states’ rights (Huston 173). The thirteen states formed a rather loose confederation with quite a weak federal government. This weakness enabled the leaders to come together when problems arose and create in secrecy the U.

S constitution. Most people felt that this constitution ignored the rights of states to continue being independent. This resulted in the idea of nullification, and when this never worked out they moved towards secession. The growth of the abolition movement was another cause. The northerners become more polarized against slavery which the southerners depended so much on slaves for their cheap labor. Some key events such as the publishing of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin and others held individuals responsible for harboring fugitives even if they were in non-slave states.

Following the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860, South Carolina issued its declaration of secession and believed that Lincoln was antislavery and favored the interest of the northern people hence living the southerners out (Huston 181).