Causes Of The American Civil War

8 Pages 2004 Words

The South, which was known as the Confederate States of America,
seceded from the North, which was also known as the Union, for many
different reasons. The reason they wanted to succeed was because there
was four decades of great sectional conflict between the two. Between
the North and South there were deep economic, social, and political
differences. The South wanted to become an independent nation. There
were many reasons why the South wanted to succeed but the main reason
had to do with the North’s view on slavery. All of this was basically
a different interpretation of the United States Constitution on both
sides. In the end all of these disagreements on both sides led to the
Civil War, in which the North won.

There were a few reasons other then the slavery issue, that the
South disagreed on and that persuaded them to succeed from the Union.
Basically the North favored a loose interpretation of the United
States Constitution. They wanted to grant the federal government
increased powers. The South wanted to reserve all undefined powers to
the individual states. The North also wanted internal improvements
sponsored by the federal government. This was more roads, railroads,
and canals. The South, on the other hand, did not want these projects
to be done at all. Also the North wanted to develop a tariff. With a
high tariff, it protected the Northern manufacturer. It was bad for
the South because a high tariff would not let the south trade its
cotton for foreign goods. The North also wanted a good banking and
currency system and federal subsidies for shipping and internal
improvements. The South felt these were discriminatory and that they
favored Northern commercial interests.

Now the main reason for the South’s secession was the Slavery
issue. Basically the South wanted and needed it and the North did not
want it at all. The South was going to do anything they co...