American civil war Essay

American civil war Essay American civil war Essay The American Civil War was a fought within the United States between the North and the South starting from 1861 and ending in 1865. This war was one of the most negative events in American history, yet it helped shape the character of the American individual today. The causes of Civil War can be traced back to tensions that were created early in colonial era. Mainly, the war between the two regions was caused by social, political and economic differences between the South and the North, but it is important to understand that slavery was the root of cause of these differences. Socially, the North and the South were built on different standards. The South was a slave-based community, and people were depended on slaves and accustomed to this way of life. South plantation owners had slaves working for them, and those who could not afford to own slaves would work on their own farm. The North had more immigrants settling in its areas, where labor was needed. Therefore it had a more industr ialized society where most people worked in factories. The Northerners opposed to Slavery as an institution in the South, as the Confederate States were the only region in the world that still legalized the ownership of slaves. This angered the Southerners and threatened their way of life. By time, economic differences also developed between the two regions. The Southern states were depended on agriculture rather than industrialization. After the Cotton Gin was invented, it increased the need for slaves and made cotton the chief crop of the South. The South was able to produce most worlds’ supply of cotton. This increased the South's dependence on the plantation system and its vital component, slavery. However, the North was prospering industrially. The North depended on factories and industrialized businesses. In addition, many of the new immigrants settled north, while very few settled south. This allowed the North to grow industrially, while making the South more hostile t owards them. Southern economy opposed high taxes, as manufacturing was limited. But the Northern states accepted high taxes to protect its products from cheap foreign competition. Another major problem that occurred was the competition between the North and South for more land. The expansion of America due to the lands obtained from the Louisiana Purchase and with the Mexican war, it caused the issue of whether new states would become free or slavery. This decision was important not only for the individual state making the decision but for the country as a whole. In December of 1818, a bill was placed into the hands of congressman to allow Missouri to be admitted as an independent state of the United State. The bill wanted Missouri to be permitted to have slaves. The Northern representatives did not want Missouri to have any slaves. They wanted a free state and any slaves located in the territory of Missouri to be freed. However, the Southern representatives wanted the state to ret ain their right to have slaves. The on-going debate progressed for the next two years until the creation of Missouri Compromise of 1820, which Missouri enter the union as a slave state, and Maine enter as a free state. Also, no territory above the 30-36 parallel