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The Causes Of The Civil War

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The Causes of the Civil War: Political Reasons that Led to the Outbreak of the Civil War
Introduction
The Civil War was one of the most devastating events to have happened in the United
States. Between 1861 and 1865, the northern states and the southern states went to war over
slavery. While the states in the north advocated or the abolition of slavery, the southern states
vehemently opposed the idea. Instructively, the southern states had rich and expansive
agricultural fields where the slaves provide free labor. The abolition of slavery would deny the
southern states this precious commodity. Therefore, it is absolutely understandable when the
southern states opposed the idea of the abolition of the practice. Slaves had for many years been
the foundation of the economy of southern states, and it was not understandable to the southern
states that the states in the north were advocating for the end of the practice. The election of
Abraham Lincoln, a fierce proponent of the end of slavery, exacerbated an already volatile
relationship between the northern and southern states. The election of Abraham Lincoln
convinced many states in the south that slavery was under existential threat. Three months after
the election of Abraham Lincoln, several states seceded from the union. States included Texas,
Alabama, South Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi, Florida and Louisiana. These states were of the

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opinion that the practice of slavery was a right that no force or union could take away from them.
Virginia, Tennessee, Arkansas and Northern Carolina soon joined the confederate forces. After a
protracted battle, the Confederate forces ultimately surrendered in 1865. There is no doubt that
there is no other entity that had adverse effects on the United States than the Civil War. One of
the impacts of this war was the massive loss of lives. It is estimated that between 600,000 and
800,000, Americans lost their lives as a result of the war (Hummel n.p). Besides, this war led to
significant slowing down of the country's economy. Farming activities in the south and
manufacturing in the north almost came to a halt as a result of the way. While the genesis of the
war and its impacts have been studied and published widely, there is limited research on the
political causes of the war. Almost every American who understands the history of the country
will know that the move to abolish slavery was the cause of the war. While it is undeniable that
the tussle over slavery was at the centre of the Civil War, it should not be lost to a keen observer
that political challenges, weaknesses or problems also had a role to play in the genesis of the
war. The primary purpose of this paper is to consider the political factors that contributed to the
outbreak of the Civil War. Notably, the Civil War was not only due to the conflicts related to
slavery between North and South but more importantly, it also arose from the weaknesses of the
federal system with a serious localist tendency, compromised imbalances and limited central
power. These challenges exacerbated the instability of this system and caused conflicts between
the two sides of slavery. Gradual escalation resulted in a full-scale war.
Political causes of the Civil War
As indicated above, the weaknesses in the country’s political systems, especially with
regard to the federal system, had a role to play in the outbreak of the war. The fact that the
system made it possible for fissures to arise, thereby separating the north from the south, played

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Surname1 Name Course Tutor Institution Date The Causes of the Civil War: Political Reasons that Led to the Outbreak of the Civil War Introduction The Civil War was one of the most devastating events to have happened in the United States. Between 1861 and 1865, the northern states and the southern states went to war over slavery. While the states in the north advocated or the abolition of slavery, the southern states vehemently opposed the idea. Instructively, the southern states had rich and expansive agricultural fields where the slaves provide free labor. The abolition of slavery would deny the southern states this precious commodity. Therefore, it is absolutely understandable when the southern states opposed the idea of the abolition of the practice. Slaves had for many years been the foundation of the economy of southern states, and it was not understandable to the southern states that the states in the north were advocating for the end of the practice. The election of Abraham Lincoln, a fierce proponent of the end of slavery, exacerbated an already volatile relationship between the northern and southern states. The election of Abraham Lincoln convinced many states in the south that slavery was under existential threat. Three months after the election of Abraham Lincoln, several states seceded from the union. States included Texas, Alabama, South Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi, Florida and Louisiana. These states were of the Surname2 opinion that the practice of slavery ...
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