The Civil War

A detailed Summary of The Civil War

The Primary Cause of the American Civil War: Economics

More than one million people dead and a nation torn apart. "A fight against slavery" it was said, but was that the main reason the war was fought? Or is that just what our nation says to glorify our past? There were many factors that contributed to the United States' Civil War, but the main reason for the war can be attributed to the economic differences between the Northern and Southern parts of the United States.

There were a variety of differences or outcomes that resulted because of the diversity from north to south. They ranged from the different crops to the tariffs imposed on them. Economics can be defined as "the science which studies production, distribution and consumption of commodities" or as "the study of the impossible-unlimited wants and needs fulfilled with limited resources." These differences started when the United States was just forming. The makers of the Constitution specifically avoided dealing directly with the morality and legitimacy of slavery due to the fact that it was (at the time) an essential part of their economy (or so they thought in the south).

With the advent of the Industrial revolution (the 1820's, 1830's,

Historians argue that since the south grew the cotton and the north shipped it that they were in union together, but the south disliked this arrangement because they had to pay both the north and Britain to ship the cotton. This was because the north would ship the cotton down the Mississippi River and take it to a port and then the British would ship it to England from the port. The south also disliked this arrangement because of the tariffs imposed on imports. The trading of items from Europe to the south for cotton was a major part of their economy, and the tariffs (which were protective, northern, and helped support industry) made the cost of goods higher. Perhaps the most infuriating tariff was the "Law of 1842," which was signed into effect by president John Tyler. The Law of 1842 was a protective tariff aimed at protecting northern industry. Therefore the south disliked the tariffs from which they lost money too, while the north grew more profitable. In 1832 South Carolina as Senator Calhoun said was ready to nullify or secede from the Union on this account. The north on the other hand wanted the tariffs to support their young industry and they needed the shipping to further bring money into their economy. The North felt threatened by the European imports from the textile industry. They were afraid that without a protective tariff their industry and economy as a whole would collapse. This also added to the

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Approximate Word count = 965
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History