Causes of the Civil War
For more than 160 years, historians have painstakingly searched for the one factor that caused the American Civil War, the event that caused disunion to turn to war. The search is so intense that the American Civil War is one of the most researched events in the history of the United States. Throughout Unit VII, we have seen various events or variables that could be identified as a factor that has set the United States on a path toward the American Civil War. This one factor and its impact will be the focus of our Unit VII assignment.
Assignment Instructions:
After reading the Unit VII Study Guide and Chapter 14, construct an essay that skillfully answers the following prompt:
Select one event from the list below and describe why you believe this single event caused such intense disunion within the United States that the country was placed on a trajectory toward the American Civil War.
The Compromise of 1850
The Kansas-Nebraska Act
Presidential Election of 1856
Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)
The Lincoln-Douglas Debates
John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry
Presidential Election of 1860
Assignment Requirements:
Provide an insightful and thorough overview of the event and clearly describe how it served as a catalyst for the American Civil War.
Because this is an academic research paper, no personal opinions are to be used. Stay focused on the research.
In-text citations and a reference list are required. A title page and abstract are not.
At least two resources from the CSU database collection must be cited within the text of your essay and noted on your reference page.
Peer-reviewed resources are preferred, but are not required.
Academically viable Internet resources are permitted, but are supplemental to the two required resources from the CSU database collection.
Required minimum length: 2 pages
Causes of the Civil War
The American civil war, which lasted from 1861 to 1865 and led to over 618,000 casualties, is a remarkable event in the history of the United States (Quist, 2020). Numerous debates surround the cause of this war with none citing a single event or reason as the cause. Many possibilities have been fronted, including slavery, economics, states’ vs. federal rights, the election of Abraham Lincoln, and many more (Sanchez, 2019). However, it is widely agreed that these contesting issues created so much tension between the competing factions that would eventually hit a breakpoint. This discussion holds that the Presidential Election of 1860, won by Abraham Lincoln, is the event that pushed Americans to the brink of war and subsequently triggered the Civil War.
The American civil war was between Northern and Southern states and was marked by the separation of the Confederates from the Union. The confederates were made up of the Southern states, while the Union was made up of the Northern states (History Editors, 2020). The main reasons for the separation revolve around opposing interests. The Union believed in a unitary country, free from slavery and based on equal rights, while the Confederates wanted the states to govern themselves and were against the abolishment of slavery. Since Lincoln was against slavery and wanted to maintain the United States as a constitutional union, his victory in 1861 sent a clear message to the confederate that their grievances would not be met and gave them no option but to fight for what they wanted (Sanchez, 2019).
The events that preceded the Presidential Election of 1860 give a clear indication of the brewing division that was about to escalate into a war. The Democratic Party was a major political party that enjoyed the support of both the North and the South (Sanchez, 2019). Since the North and the South were divided on the issue of slavery, the party was divided into Southern Democrats (supporting slavery expansion) and Northern Democrats (opposing slavery expansion) (History Editors, 2020). The south was further divided by the formation of a new party, the Constitutional Union Party that nominated a slaveholder, John Bell as their presidential nominee (Quist, 2020). This divide gave a loophole for Lincoln to consolidate the north to support his presidential bid under the Republican Party and led to his victory.
The outcome of the election in which Lincoln did not carry a single Southern state but won with a landslide of 180 electoral votes, sent a clear message to the south that the north was consolidated against it (History Editors, 2020). Besides, since Lincoln was a blatant opponent of slavery, they knew it was a lost score. Their last resort was to rebel against the union and separate from it. This is evidenced by the secession that ensued shortly after the election, even before the new president was inaugurated. Eleven Southern states seceded from the Union, starting with South Carolina on December 20, 1860, and a week after the swearing-in, the war broke out by attacking Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861 (Quist, 2020).
Therefore, the Presidential Election of 1860 is arguably the trigger event that pushed America into the civil war. Even though there could have been tensions before then, they were contained until after the election. The election outcome confirmed the deep-seated division between the south and the north on slavery and state’s rights. However, this event can not stand as the sole reason that caused the war..
References
History Editors. (2020). Election of 1860. History. https://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/election-of-1860
Sanchez, A. (2019). Teaching the Complex History of Abolition and the Civil War. American Educator, 43(3), 35-37. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1231997
Quist, J. W. (2020). The Election of 1860:” A Campaign Fraught with Consequences”. University Press of Kansas