WinstonRa
Aug 17, 2025
Writing Feedback / Looking Back at the US Civil War [2]
The American Civil War, which was fought from 1861 to 1865, was due to many
years of political conflict and tension between the North and the South sides of the
United States. Specifically, as the South's economic dependence on slave labor
increasingly grew, so did their resistance against any attempts to restrict or abolish it.
Since the North was increasingly becoming more anti-slavery at that time, they opposed
not only its expansion into western territories but its existence itself. Consequently,
political tensions grew between both sides, which finally led to the southern secession
and the infamous American Civil War.
The South was extremely reliant on their slave labor because of its ability to
generate profit, which boosted the South's economy. In the nineteenth century, cotton
replaced sugar, becoming the world's largest major crop being produced by slave labor
(Foner 2022). The South was the central largest and powerful slave society that the
modern world has known, and utilized their vast network of slaves to become the
world's largest exporter of cotton, eventually becoming three fourths of the world's
cotton supply. Since cotton was an important commodity in international trade, the
South relied on their slave labor to produce more cotton and other slave crops such as
sugar and tobacco. Furthermore, inventions such as the cotton gin in 1793 increased
efficiency in cotton production, which made the South even more reliant on slave labor
in order to keep their economy afloat. Therefore, their dependence on slave labor for
their economy led to their resistance against any attempt to abolish it, which conflicted
directly against Northern interests.
The North on the other hand, had an extremely different economy from the South
for a variety of reasons. At the time, the South was very reliant on slave labor and its
production of slave crops (which was mostly agriculture), which limited its ability to
industrialize and develop into more modern ways of life. The Market Revolution which
occurred between the 1820's and 1850's, discouraged creating goods for self-use and
encouraged creating goods to sell, altered the North's economy. As it contributed to the
urbanization of the north and development of infrastructure such as cities and factories.
In the North, they relied more on "industrial workers" rather than slaves focusing on a,
Northerners began to view slavery as outdated and not efficient, even to the point of
creating an American Anti-Slavery Society in 1833. Furthermore, abolitionist
movements in the 1830's created deep tensions between the North and South, which
was not only moral but also political.
These tensions regarding slavery grew as westward expansion grew in the United
States as well. As the United States began to expand westward, debates over whether
newly acquired territories should allow slavery or not became a central political issue for
the country, as both sides fiercely disagreed. During the nineteenth century, events such
as the annexation of Texas in 1845, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848 (due to
America's victory in the Mexican-American War), and trends such as the California Gold
Rush in the mid 1800's all led to the United State's quick and vast expansion into
western territory. However, several events occurred which deepened the divide between
the two sides.
One prominent event that occurred was the Compromise of 1850, which was a
series of measures with the purpose of resolving the argument between the North and
South sides regarding slavery in newly acquired territory. Some specific sections of this
Compromise were the admittance of California as a free state (prohibiting slavery), the
Fugitive Slave Act, which required that escaped slaves be returned to their owners even
in free states, popular sovereignty in Utah and New Mexico, and many others. Although
it was supposed to ease arguments between the North and South, it did not solve the
underlying tensions between the sides. Additionally, sections of the Compromise only
further angered both sides. For example, the North was outraged by the Fugitive Slave
Act while the South was outraged by the admittance of California as a free state, which
consequently led to worse and more violent tensions between the North and the South.
Another important event was the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, which was a law
introduced by Stephen Douglassn that allowed for settlers in Kansas and Nebraska to
decide for themselves whether or not the states should allow slavery, essentially popular
sovereignty. Although it was initially created to ease tensions, it resulted in the infamous
"Bleeding Kansas" where opposing sides clashed violently in Kansas to fight over
whether the state should be pro or anti slavery. Furthermore, it repealed the Missouri
Compromise which initially had prohibited slavery in the area, angering the North. This
deepened the divide between the North and the South as the tensions turned violent,
leading it closer to the Civil War and southern secession.
Furthermore, other events such as the Wilmot Proviso of 1846, which was a
proposal to ban slavery from any new territory acquired from Mexico, and the creation
of the Free Soil Party, which was an official political party which opposed slavery, only
furthered the tensions between the North and the South, making them not only violent
but now political. Finally, the tension came to a climax at the election of 1860. It was at
this election that Abraham Lincoln (who was perceived as a threat to slavery) who
represented the Republican Party, won. Because of the divide between the Democratic
Party (who supported slavery at the time), Lincoln was able to win the election.
However, southern states viewed this as an attack to their political power, and a danger
to their ability to own slaves. This led to their basically immediate secession from the
United States in order to keep their interests. The secession of the southern states
catalyzed the start of the Civil War, as failed compromises between both sides and the
eventual attack of Fort Sumter led to the Civil War. Which although originally was
supposed to preserve the Union, turned into a war on abolition.
In conclusion, the secession of the southern states and eventual American Civil
War was a result of many years of tensions between the North and South, which grew
and grew due to a series of political events regarding slavery in newly acquired western
territories. The South viewed slavery as an essential part of their economy, and feared
that the loss of it would disrupt their profit generating ability, while the North viewed
slavery as not only outdated but also morally incorrect. Eventually, tensions climaxed
and led one of the most infamous civil wars in history.
The American Civil War, which was fought from 1861 to 1865, was due to many
years of political conflict and tension between the North and the South sides of the
United States. Specifically, as the South's economic dependence on slave labor
increasingly grew, so did their resistance against any attempts to restrict or abolish it.
Since the North was increasingly becoming more anti-slavery at that time, they opposed
not only its expansion into western territories but its existence itself. Consequently,
political tensions grew between both sides, which finally led to the southern secession
and the infamous American Civil War.
The South was extremely reliant on their slave labor because of its ability to
generate profit, which boosted the South's economy. In the nineteenth century, cotton
replaced sugar, becoming the world's largest major crop being produced by slave labor
(Foner 2022). The South was the central largest and powerful slave society that the
modern world has known, and utilized their vast network of slaves to become the
world's largest exporter of cotton, eventually becoming three fourths of the world's
cotton supply. Since cotton was an important commodity in international trade, the
South relied on their slave labor to produce more cotton and other slave crops such as
sugar and tobacco. Furthermore, inventions such as the cotton gin in 1793 increased
efficiency in cotton production, which made the South even more reliant on slave labor
in order to keep their economy afloat. Therefore, their dependence on slave labor for
their economy led to their resistance against any attempt to abolish it, which conflicted
directly against Northern interests.
The North on the other hand, had an extremely different economy from the South
for a variety of reasons. At the time, the South was very reliant on slave labor and its
production of slave crops (which was mostly agriculture), which limited its ability to
industrialize and develop into more modern ways of life. The Market Revolution which
occurred between the 1820's and 1850's, discouraged creating goods for self-use and
encouraged creating goods to sell, altered the North's economy. As it contributed to the
urbanization of the north and development of infrastructure such as cities and factories.
In the North, they relied more on "industrial workers" rather than slaves focusing on a,
Northerners began to view slavery as outdated and not efficient, even to the point of
creating an American Anti-Slavery Society in 1833. Furthermore, abolitionist
movements in the 1830's created deep tensions between the North and South, which
was not only moral but also political.
These tensions regarding slavery grew as westward expansion grew in the United
States as well. As the United States began to expand westward, debates over whether
newly acquired territories should allow slavery or not became a central political issue for
the country, as both sides fiercely disagreed. During the nineteenth century, events such
as the annexation of Texas in 1845, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848 (due to
America's victory in the Mexican-American War), and trends such as the California Gold
Rush in the mid 1800's all led to the United State's quick and vast expansion into
western territory. However, several events occurred which deepened the divide between
the two sides.
One prominent event that occurred was the Compromise of 1850, which was a
series of measures with the purpose of resolving the argument between the North and
South sides regarding slavery in newly acquired territory. Some specific sections of this
Compromise were the admittance of California as a free state (prohibiting slavery), the
Fugitive Slave Act, which required that escaped slaves be returned to their owners even
in free states, popular sovereignty in Utah and New Mexico, and many others. Although
it was supposed to ease arguments between the North and South, it did not solve the
underlying tensions between the sides. Additionally, sections of the Compromise only
further angered both sides. For example, the North was outraged by the Fugitive Slave
Act while the South was outraged by the admittance of California as a free state, which
consequently led to worse and more violent tensions between the North and the South.
Another important event was the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, which was a law
introduced by Stephen Douglassn that allowed for settlers in Kansas and Nebraska to
decide for themselves whether or not the states should allow slavery, essentially popular
sovereignty. Although it was initially created to ease tensions, it resulted in the infamous
"Bleeding Kansas" where opposing sides clashed violently in Kansas to fight over
whether the state should be pro or anti slavery. Furthermore, it repealed the Missouri
Compromise which initially had prohibited slavery in the area, angering the North. This
deepened the divide between the North and the South as the tensions turned violent,
leading it closer to the Civil War and southern secession.
Furthermore, other events such as the Wilmot Proviso of 1846, which was a
proposal to ban slavery from any new territory acquired from Mexico, and the creation
of the Free Soil Party, which was an official political party which opposed slavery, only
furthered the tensions between the North and the South, making them not only violent
but now political. Finally, the tension came to a climax at the election of 1860. It was at
this election that Abraham Lincoln (who was perceived as a threat to slavery) who
represented the Republican Party, won. Because of the divide between the Democratic
Party (who supported slavery at the time), Lincoln was able to win the election.
However, southern states viewed this as an attack to their political power, and a danger
to their ability to own slaves. This led to their basically immediate secession from the
United States in order to keep their interests. The secession of the southern states
catalyzed the start of the Civil War, as failed compromises between both sides and the
eventual attack of Fort Sumter led to the Civil War. Which although originally was
supposed to preserve the Union, turned into a war on abolition.
In conclusion, the secession of the southern states and eventual American Civil
War was a result of many years of tensions between the North and South, which grew
and grew due to a series of political events regarding slavery in newly acquired western
territories. The South viewed slavery as an essential part of their economy, and feared
that the loss of it would disrupt their profit generating ability, while the North viewed
slavery as not only outdated but also morally incorrect. Eventually, tensions climaxed
and led one of the most infamous civil wars in history.
