Reasons for American Civil War

There is sometimes a historical misconception where the reasons for the American Civil War are concerned. Often, it is thought of as a one-issue conflict between the North and South over the abolition of institution of slavery, but little is said of the animosity between the two regions that had existed from the birth of the nation. Like a marriage that begins tenuously and slowly spirals into an environment of hatred - the political, economic and social relationship between Northern and Southern states deteriorated to the point of irreconcilable differences and the inevitable, metaphorical divorce of the North and South.

To begin with, the social make-up of both the North and South were distinctly different. In the Northern states most of the early settlers arrived in family groups and maintained strong family bonds. Population growth was primarily from the growth of these families and a stable society arose from this. In the Southern states, immigration was the primary means of growing the population, leading to a society of masters and servants. Most males migrating to the Southern states were poor and unemployed, leading them to a life of servitude under the wealthy landowners of the South. The South was certainly rural compared to the urbanized North and their values were quite different.

Economically, there were differences as well. The South was comprised almost entirely of large plantations and the Southerners considered the agrarian way of life to be superior, both morally and economically, to any other. In the North, farms were much smaller and were mainly a source of sustenance and not profit. Instead, trade and manufacturing were the main economic staples, as the many seaports provided the means to import and export goods and the densely populated cities gave rise to a factory environment. As the nation matured, the North became more and more industrialized and the South remained agrarian, with one important change; the agricultural economy built on servitude had transformed to one of institutionalized slavery.

Where politics were concerned, the marriage between the North and South was one of necessity. In order to declare independence from England, the Colonies had to be unanimous in opposing the King. As Benjamin Franklin once said when faced with the dilemma of treason against the crown, “We must, indeed, all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately” (National Center for the American Revolution, n.d.). After independence was won and the Colonies had to build a new government structure. Guidelines for governance of the nation were documented in the Articles of Confederation, which were ratified in 1781. The Articles created a weak central government with limited powers, while leaving most of the power in the hands of the individual states. By 1786, following a time of further conflicts with Britain and Spain as well as conflicts regarding western land claims among the states, it