I hope you have been asking yourself "How in the world could the United States split apart the way they did?". Well, it's a great question. How did we get so fractured socially, economically and politically that secession seemed like the only choice for eleven southern states?
For this week's blog, I want you to research that very question. What were the political, economic and social reasons for the Civil War? In the comment section, write an explanation for EACH category AND then prioritize them in order of the most important to least important category (of course, they are all important, but you know what I mean...).
There are many reasons as to why the United States split up the way they did and why the civil war began. Although economic, political, and socials reasons for the civil war are all important, I think economic reasons are the most important. The main issue was states’ rights. One economic reason was that the South did not want to give up their slaves and their rights, but the North wanted to abolish slavery. Slavery and states’ rights were the main reason of why the United States split up and why the civil war started. For political reasons it's because every new state could ruin the balance of slavery, which became a big problem for the North and the South, which is one way the United States began to split up the way it did. There are also many other ways too. For example, the Missouri Compromise. The social reason is that the war started, partly because there were many Abolitionists wanting to end slavery for good. That was one of the reasons why Lincoln won. After Lincoln won election, the South did not want to give up their slaves, so the only chose that they thought was left to them was secession that led directly to war. Secession brought war in which the Northern states to preserve the Union, and the South fought to establish Southern independence as a new confederation of states under its own constitution. (words: 240)
ReplyDeleteWell first off, the north and the south argue about EVERYTHING! I mean, the south wants to keep slaves, and the north rather not keep them. There are probably a million reasons the United States split up the way it did, but for me, I would say the main problem was slavery. As I said in my last sentence, the north and the south disagreed on whether or not to keep slaves. That led up to the election of Abraham Lincoln which then caused some of the southern states to secede from the Union. HELLO IT IS SPLITTING UP RIGHT HERE YOU SHOULD NOT CAUSE ANYTHING ELSE TO HAPPEN SO NO ONE ELSE WILL SECEDE I MEAN COME ON. Secondly, as I said about the election of Abraham Lincoln, the second reason it might have caused America to split up is politics. The North really wanted Abraham Lincoln but for the south, he was the enemy. Such an enemy that like in the video we watched in class showed, they burned stuff that looked like him! Now because of all this Lincoln stuff and him trying to figure out a way to help end slavery, this led to the Civil War. This was crazy and probably everyone wanted to leave the United States I mean it was insane. :D Thirdly, states rights was a big problem. (I know I have been on the topic of slavery but this helps me prove my point) The southern states thought they had rights to keep slaves, even when Lincoln pretty much ruled it out. Everyone is equal just like Lincoln said in his Gettysburg Address, and he was trying to do what is right so it would not lead to AMERICA SPLITTING APART! HE WAS TRYING TO HELP PEOPLE BUT APPARENTLY THEY DID NOT WANT TO LISTEN. Anyway, rights was a big problem because certain people thought they had certain rights and it was just a whole jumble of problems. Now, my main point is that pretty much if slavery never happened, it would have helped us a lot like keeping the southern states from seceding. (they were so cute thinking they could go off and make their own little “states of America) Hahaha nope Lincoln was gonna try and get them back and with God’s help, he was able to do just that. There was many problems, but I think that these points are some of the main reason. Thank you Lord for protecting America now and not letting us have slavery and everyone seceding all over the place. (427)
ReplyDeleteA political reason for the starting of the Civil War is because of the establishment of the Confederacy in February 1861. Another political reason to the start of the Civil War is that slave owners wanted to keep their slaves. This reason being one of the more obvious reasons to the start of the Civil War. There were also Economically reasons to the cause of the Civil War. One of them being that the North had more trade lines and were more industrial than the South. The North also had more states than the South (23:11). A social reason to the start of the Civil War was the culture difference. in other words most Southerners came from "Celtic" origin while most Northerners came from "Anglo-Saxon". (122)
ReplyDeletethe reason for the civla was other than slavery was that the south and the north were just differant. the invention of the cotton jin sky rocketed the southern econemy in 1793. another reason is that hardly any slave states was going to even come close to following federal law. a large reson was the election of abraham lincon. the south hated the thought of an abolisionist coming into ofice and becoming presidnt of the country. wehn lincon went into office the outraged the south and they demanded a change to the government of the country. (100)
ReplyDeleteA big reason for the civil war was the south didnt want to give up their right to have slaves and the north wanted to stop slavery. Another reason for the civil war was the north had more trading lines then the south, and the both was taking advantage of the south they bought their cotton cheep and maid cloths with it and would sell it for dubble to the south. Wen the south found out they were mad, but they weren't smart enough to make their own clothes factory's because they had the Cotten. Another big reason was the #of slave to free states the number wasn't equal anymore and this was a big issue! 116
ReplyDeleteThere are many reasons why the Civil War was started. One political reason was because Abraham Lincoln became president in 1860. The South hated him because they thought he was going to release all of the slaves. But he specifically said that he wasn’t. With his election, came the rise of the Republican Party and the decline of the Whig Party. I would place this reason last because it was over something so trivial. This leads me to the second reason.
ReplyDeleteBecause the south thought that Lincoln was going to release the slaves, they realized that this was going to be a big blow to their economic system. So that was another reason why they split up.
If the slaves were set free, some slaves might want revenge against their owners And everything might be socially awkward. And the ex slaves would have been terrorized just like they were when they were set free.(154)
The Political reason is the issue of slavery. Even before the war the North and the South have had a problem with slavery they knew it was going to be a problem someday in the future. So I think this is the most important reason. The Economic reason is that the North economically dominated over the South. The North’s economy was very wealthy from trade and imports. This is the second most important reason. The Social reason is the arguments of the North and the South mainly about slavery. For example, Uncle Tom’s Cabin was one of the things that helped abolition to increase.(104)
ReplyDeletethere were many reasons why the US split. The politics of the north and the south didn't match, they argued over slavery, economics, and government. the south wanted slaves which enraged the north, and the north didn't want slaves which enraged the south. both had good reasons too. the south needed slaves or else their economy would crash because they didn't have enough workers to pick all the fields and harvest everything. the north was angry at the way the slaves were treated, which eventually caused the confederacy to succeed. the north was full of wealth and the south was more, just get by, or for big plantation owners, wealth. the north exporting made them all have it pretty well off. Abolition came and the country split, causing war. the north came out on top and banned slavery. (138)
ReplyDeleteThe first and most important reason is economics. The south needed slaves because they virtually ran the economy. They grew the cotton, picked the cotton, and then the owners sold it and got the bills. Social reasons are next the abolitionist and the non-abolitionists were already going at it about slavery. So the civil war was kind of just a huge argument between these two sides, but in this argument there was guns and cannons. Political is the last reason. The south had made its point that if Abe Lincoln was elected president they would secede. Obviously no one in the south voted for him but he was so heavily favored that he won off of the north votes only. And the rest is history.
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ReplyDeleteI think that Economic reasons were are the most important. Slavery was very big in the south because the owners could get other people to do their dirty work instead of them, and they liked having that power so when they took what Abraham Lincoln said out of context then things started going down hill. Most everyone in the south thought that he wanted to take away their slaves. But he was really talking about the new states wanting to join the United States from then on out only being able to enter as free states. Then Missouri wanted to enter as a slave state and that made the Northerners mad, so the Missouri Compromise was introduced and that said that any state north of Missouri was a free state and any below could be slave states. This made everyone happy for the moment. When Lincoln said what he said, and everyone in the south had a fit! That's when what I think is second most important came into place. Political reasons. (173) The North wanted more free states because there weren't that many of them compared to slave states. The South wouldn't allow it! Even though "free states" were states were black people could have jobs and not be persecuted it didn't necessarily mean that they had rights. It just meant that they made it to a place were
ReplyDeletepeople would treat them like equals. Even in slave states the slave hunters could take them back to their owners, and if they had never been a slave they could still be taken and sold as slaves! And last but not least Social reasons. The Social reasons were mainly Abolitionist not willing to give up. When all of this happened the southern states started to succeed and that's when the Civil War began...and many other things afterwards. (307)
I think that Economic reasons were are the most important. Slavery was very big in the south because the owners could get other people to do their dirty work instead of them, and they liked having that power so when they took what Abraham Lincoln said out of context then things started going down hill. Most everyone in the south thought that he wanted to take away their slaves. But he was really talking about the new states wanting to join the United States from then on out only being able to enter as free states. Then Missouri wanted to enter as a slave state and that made the Northerners mad, so the Missouri Compromise was introduced and that said that any state north of Missouri was a free state and any below could be slave states. This made everyone happy for the moment. When Lincoln said what he said, and everyone in the south had a fit! That's when what I think is second most important came into place. Political reasons. (173) The North wanted more free states because there weren't that many of them compared to slave states. The South wouldn't allow it! Even though "free states" were states were black people could have jobs and not be persecuted it didn't necessarily mean that they had rights. It just meant that they made it to a place were
ReplyDeletepeople would treat them like equals. Even in slave states the slave hunters could take them back to their owners, and if they had never been a slave they could still be taken and sold as slaves! And last but not least Social reasons. The Social reasons were mainly Abolitionist not willing to give up. When all of this happened the southern states started to succeed and that's when the Civil War began...and many other things afterwards. (307)
ReplyDeleteI'm struggling to decide if political or economic should be first on my list, but for the love of the NYY, I'm gonna go with economic as #1. Here's why:
We all know that the south was thriving with their "gold"--cotton as we know it. The price had especially bumped up when the cotton gin was invented, increasing the amount of cotton picked, processed, and ready to go by an amount that made farmers richer than ever. By richer, I mean they were able to purchase more slaves, which meant: A) more cotton picked in a faster time. 2) more cotton sold to the industry in the North. And Thirdly) The ability to increase their crops, which would then make this list of three practically an unending loop.
Now what were the North's thoughts? "What are ya doing, South!?" However, they had the advantage of industry. What does that mean? No farmlands. What else does that mean? No need for slaves. In fact, they were all about letting free African Americans own their own businesses! So of course they were angered at the South's growth in slave owning. But when you think about it…they were buying the same cotton from those fields to make their own profits in clothing. However, I'll cut 'em some slack because they didn't have the geography to grow the cotton. Climates. Gotta love it.
Now for political reasons! During this time of American history, our fine country was increasing in its size due to new territories applying for statehood left and right just about every year! PROBLEM: There was always a debate on if it would be a free state or slave state, considering northern and southern borders setting the tone. The one state that had to have driven us apart would be KS-NB Act. The south feared that if the amount of slave states got outnumbered, they would lose their rights for owning slaves--since they're economy "depended on it." The North however agreed to disagree. So, you then Bleeding Kansas, which leads to more destruction. And now we're at social issues.
The North and the South might as well have been two twins fighting over who gets the top bunk or the lower bunk. Why? Because both had not only taken this through violence but in the media of the day! Lincoln became president of the United States, and since he was against slavery, the South got nervous. Therefore, abolitionists and authors started encouraging revolts! So you have violence, and those supporting it! Slaves started to rebel, people started agreeing with the all time famous "Uncle Tom's Cabin", and to be honest, this scheme couldn't have been more genius. Win the hearts of the people--you get them on your side.
So, the list could go on, but all in all, the South couldn't stand the dispute and fear they were getting. Why not succeed? Then they don't have to worry about the North getting all in their space, right? Well…we all know how that turned out. (505)
Sources:
https://prezi.com/_dbj4tnvekc6/social-causes-of-the-civil-war/
http://www.ducksters.com/history/civil_war/causes_of_the_civil_war.php
The south and the north had never really gotten along. The south wanted slavery the north didn't, it was as simple as that. When the north tried to completely get rid of slavery, the south thought they were losing their rights as states of the United States of America and that divided America even more. The north thought the federal government had the right and the south didn't. The social barrier was kind of caused by the election of 1861. When Abraham Lincoln won, the South feared the would be forced to give up their slaves and didn't want to do that. This also caused a political barrier by having a Republican in office. Lincoln said he would still allow slavery where it was, but the south didn't believe him. So that also led to the secession of the southern states. Economically the south was producing the cotton for America. If slavery was ended however, the cotton would not be produced as well. The slaves produced 50 times more cotton with the cotton gin, but if the slaves weren't there cotton production would be a lot slower. Another reason we became so divided was because of things like the Missouri Compromise which literally divided us in half. The importance of these (in my opinion) lies in the order of politically, economically, then socially. This is all kind of like Walt Disney's earliest production company. It was okay with his employees for him to take the credit of their work until new recruits started coming in. When the old employees jobs were at stake they wanted to be able to say they had the rights to certain characters like Donald Duck and Pluto. Disney wouldn't let them take the rights considering it was his production company so most left. In this stance, Abraham Lincoln would be Walt Disney, the workers would be the states, and the characters would be the slaves. When Abraham Lincoln said he would leave slavery alone, just like Disney when said he'd keep his old employees, the states didn't believe him, and Disney's employees didn't believe him. So the southern states seceded just like Disney's employees quit. (360)
ReplyDeleteThe political, economic, and social reasons for the Civil War starting are all very important but the most important would have to be the social reason, in my opinion. I chose this one first because there were many Abolitionists wanting to end slavery in the country once and for all. That was one of the reasons why Lincoln won. The abolitionists thought slavery was wrong. The second thing I would have to say is Economic reason this is because in the South, plantation owners had slaves and were getting a lot of money on growing their cotton. They all gained money from selling the cotton to Europe. The North however was financially successful on lots of factories and immigrants were working in them. The Yankees had to pay them money because they weren't slaves. Last but not least the Political Reason and this is because there weren’t many northern states that allowed slavery in the 1850s. So the North wanted the new states in the south to choose to be a union state. Those areas had to make the decision to have slavery or not. Then that way the North could have more members in their house of representatives. The Confederacy didn't want that to happen. This is my opinion for the reason the civil war happened.(217)
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