Here are the main factors that lead to the Civil War:
1) Industrialization, agriculture and different economies.
The economies of the Northern States had moved away from farming to industry. Many Northerners resided in large cities such as New York, Philadelphia and Boston where they would work in factories. The South, however, maintained a large economy that relied primarily on agricultural activities performed by slaves. While the North was no longer in need of slaves, the South relied on them to stabilize their economy and began to question why they should listen to a government who passed laws they didn’t.
2) The Rights of the States.
Since the Constitution was first written, there had been arguments regarding how much power the federal government should have over the states because they felt they were having their rights and powers taken away.
3) Expansion.
As the United States continued to expand westward, each new state added to the country shifted the power between the North and South. Provided that, the South feared that they would be dominated and lose their powers as well as rights. Each new state became a battleground between the two sides of power.
4) Slavery and the Abolition movement.
Slavery was one of the main issues of the South since they relied heavily on slave labour in plantations. Many people in the North believed slavery was immoral and had long abolished it in 1804.
5) Abraham Lincoln and the Republican Party.
The final straw for the South was the presidency of Abraham Lincoln, who was a member of the new anti-slavery Republican Party. He managed to get elected without even being on the ballot in ten of the southern states. Since Lincoln opposed slavery, the south believed he was against him as well.
6) Secession.
When Lincoln was elected, the Southern States no longer wanted to be a part of the United States and felt it was their right to leave. Following North Carolina, eleven states would eventually leave and form a new country called the Confederate States of America. Abraham Lincoln said they did not have the right to leave the United States and sent in troops to put a halt to the South’s departure. This was the beginning of the Civil War.
