The years before the Civil War were amply filled with causes for the destruction this war brought. There was no one prominent cause for this war but instead too many to list here today. Differences between the North and South such as rising tensions during the years before the war, abolitionists, and sectionalism are just a few of the causes of the Civil War.

Sectionalism between the North and South was caused mainly by technology, industrialization, and agriculture, or more broadly, the economy. Before 1800 the United States was an undeveloped, unsophisticated, third world country. By 1800 we began to use machines but still only 6% of the population were living in towns with the largest city being Philadelphia with a population of 40,000 people. The economy began to grow twice as fast as population due to modernization but the south didn't seem to catch on because it had been so successful. Why change something that is good? Besides, what were they to do with all their slaves? It was once said the slavery is like having a wolf by the ears: if you let go then you will be eaten alive by the economy. The majority of the Nation's millionaires were from the south including presidents,

Population was still increasing but farmers began to decrease because they were needed much less in the northern society. In 1860, 40% of the north's population was involved in agriculture while 84% of the southern population was involved in agriculture. Where are the rest of the northerners? They are in the manufacturing business. And manufacturing was booming mainly because of interchangeable parts. It was also booming because 7 out of 8 migrants would settle in the north to work. This was primarily because they didn't have to compete with slaves. So it's easy to see that the north is changing, they're more ethnically diverse, pursuant of education, capitalism, and literacy, and are expanding toward progress while the south sticks to its aristocracy and agriculture. It is these old beliefs and lack of entrepreneurism that causes the sectionalism and ultimately triggers the Civil War.

Another influential abolitionist was Harriet Beecher-Stowe, a black, female abolitionist who was aware of the conditions that surrounded her. In 1852 she wrote Uncle Tom's Cabin, a book that described the incredible cruelty and horrors of slavery. Stowe wanted to "write something that would make the whole nation feel what an accursed thing slavery is." Her novel became widely popular, and within a year, readers had bought 300,000 copies. Wherever it went, it carried its powerful message of the evils of slavery. She hoped the novel would bring a peaceful end to slavery, but instead it seemed to bring the nation closer to war. Of course, not all Southerners supported slavery, nor did all Northerners oppose it. Yet antislavery feelings were on the rise in the North...few white Southerners went to extremes. Their concern lay in maintaining the plantation system as it existed. With her book she was able to gain many Northerners support in the antislavery race, yet at the same time she outraged the Southerners. Harriet's novel was one of the many things that antagonized the Southern aristocracy.

speakers, and politicians. The north didn't let this bother them. They welcomed change and the economy continued to expand. In 1840 we began to use railroads and by the year 1860 there was almost 31,000 miles of railroads across the nation. That was more than all of Great Britain combined. Also, steamboats, canals, and roads were being used. Roads were the key to tell how well an economy was doing and until now the roads had been horrible. The northerners were making a profit at every end selling not only manufactured goods but agricultural goods as well.

Although there was an innumerable amount of causes for the Civil war, these few are the most prominent and undoubtedly the most agreed upon. It all begins with set differences between two territories and as time passes tensions between the two increase to a degree at which no society can handle. Seams burst and drastic measures are taken. Neither side can be blamed for the actions they took because if you or I were in the same position we would protect our strong beliefs and lifestyles we were taught and take aggressive action toward those who would try to change them. I only hope that we can learn from the past to improve our future.

The decade before the war saw rising tensions that became the last straw for southerners. In 1848 the Union acquired a huge piece of territory from Mexico. This opened new opportunities for the spread of slavery for Southerners. But the distribution of these lands in small lots speeded the development of this section, but it was disliked in the South because it aided the free farmer rather than the slaveholding plantation owner. So now Congress passed the Compromise Measures of 1850 during August of 1850. It dealt mainly with the question of whether slavery was to be allowed or prohibited in the regions acquired from Mexico as a result of the Mexican War. This compromise allowed abolition of the slave trade in the District of Columbia and after

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