Many things caused the Civil War. Not simply the election of Lincoln, but many things that ranged from economical problems to even discrimination of race. Other problems in short, consisted of slavery, the abolitionist (people who wanted to stop slavery) movement, difference in economy, and the western expansion.

In Congress there needed to be a balance of slave and non-slave states so one side couldn’t out vote the other. Westward expansion caused some heated debates on whether or not to permit certain territories to become states because of their view on slavery and if slavery was morally right etc. Most of these debates occurred in the early or mid-1800s.

Most people think that slavery was the only cause of the Civil War. Because of slavery, African Americans were discriminated against in the United States. In reality, southern slaves were often treated better than some northern factory workers. Because of the movement to stop slavery (the abolitionist movement) southerners concluded that all or most northerners were against them and wanted to destroy their way of life. Southerners developed the illusion that all northerners were against them and it united the southern states. For about 245 years, slaves had been used in America as free labor. Some slaves tried to escape to freedom, and some accomplished this goal. Once an escape was discovered, usually a man hunt followed. If caught, slaves were usually beaten or whipped. The basis of the southern economy was cotton, so slaves were a very important to southern life. Lincoln had said that he would end slavery so the southern population saw him as a threat to their livelyhood.

The northern economy was based on industrial things. Textile factories, forges, and general manufacturing are just a few examples of what held up the northern economy. Many low paid workers worked in those factories under horrible conditions and in an unsafe environment. Factory owners recruited the poor, women and children, and immigrants, so they didn’t have to pay the higher wages required for a normal person. The southern economy was based on cotton and other agriculture. The south used slaves to do manual labor. this was viewed as bad by northerners when their own factory workers were no better or even worse off than slaves. Southerners didn’t really attempt to stop this when northerners tried to stop slavery. Most southerners didn’t even own slaves, they worked the fields themselves. Southerners didn’t try to destroy the northern way of life, but northerners did attempt to destory theirs.

As you can see, we are a little biased toward the south because we live here in Texas. Many other smaller events also lead to the Civil War, and we hope this has taught you something new.