HISTORY

Option A
The American Civil War
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The American Civil War which occurred between 1861 and 1865 is one of the widely discussed historical events in the US. The Civil War is sometimes referred to as ‘The War Between the States’ given that it involved the warring factions of the northern and southern states. Just like most conflicts, the Civil War was caused by many factors. In fact, many argue that the war was the culmination of the age-old differences between the two blocs of the nation in relation to American life and politics. What is more, the economic differences between the northern and southern states at the time escalated the tension considering that the north was more industrialized hence more developed than the southern agricultural states. Therefore, for many years the people of the southern and northern states had been disagreeing over many issues which included economic, social and political issues, finally leading to the American Civil War.
Although the US largely remained agricultural in the 1800s, in the few years before to the war, the economic route taken by the Americans in the north varied greatly from that taken by the Americans in the south. More factories were being constructed in the north than the south as the southerners concentrated more in farming such a cotton farming. Consequently, this led to an economic imbalance with the north controlling 90 percent of the country’s capital and skilled labor force. In fact, the north had close to five times the number of manufacturing plants in the south and more than ten times the number of workers.

Labor in the north was highly mobile, active and expensive as opposed to the free labor offered by slaves in the south. The northerners and the southerners also disagreed about tariffs. In this regard, the southern politicians opposed any attempts to increase the tariffs while the northern politicians supported the increase in taxes (Kelly, 2018).
The economic inequality also led to opposing political ideologies. For instance, the issue of slavery spurred diverging political views between the north and the south. The issue further reshaped party politics in the country causing divisions in the main political parties such as the Democratic Party. The northern Whig party was also changed to the Republican Party. The Republican Party was considered anti-slavery and for economic growth partly because blacks in the north enjoyed more freedom than their counterparts in the south who were under severe restriction. The presidential election of 1860 was also a tipping point for the Union. The elections revealed the country’s deep-seated political differences which were evident in the way people voted and its impact. Abraham Lincoln of the new Republican Party won the presidency, but his victory was followed by a series of secession by some southern states since they believed that Lincoln supported the northerners (Pytelová, 2010).
A few years before the war the northerners and southerners also started disagreeing about the role of government and the US constitution. The southern states formed the Confederate States of America and advocated for more powers to be allocated to the individual states as opposed to the federation. The Confederation even published its constitution and created a united army besides each state’s army structure something that did north occur in the north. The idea of nullification also came up with the intention of giving the states the power to declare some federal acts unconstitutional. However, the federal government declined to offer such powers (Pytelová, 2010).
There is no doubt that social factors such as the antislavery movement and the abolitionism also immensely contributed to the Civil War. The controversial issue of slavery particularly fueled the differences between the north and the south as the people and politicians debated about the future of slavery. Northerners were increasingly supporting moves to abolish slavery with those who opposed slavery joining the abolitionist movement and denounced slave trade. Many northerners started viewing slavery as a morally and socially wrong act. Prominent abolitionists such as Frederick Douglass and William Garrison advocated for the immediate release of all blacks while another group led by the likes of Theodore pushed for the emancipation of slaves. Abraham Lincoln, wanting not to cause any further dispute with the southerners simply ensured that slavery did not expand. The southern states, however, did not want slavery to be abolished since it was intertwined with their economy. Slaves were considered a valuable commodity which could be sold, rented or even used to pay debts. These differences in relation to the issue of slavery often sparked animosity, and it is one of the key causes of the Civil War (Kelly, 2010).
As evident from the above discussion, the economic, political and social differences between the northerners and southerners all contributed to the animosity between the two blocs and eventually resulting in the civil war. The economic prowess of the northerners saw them control a large percentage of the economy. The attempts to increase the tariffs were also strongly opposed by the southerners but supported by the northerners something that significantly contributed to the war. Also, the political differences and the dispute regarding state versus federal powers coupled with the issue of slavery all led to the Civil War.
References
Kelly, Martin. (2018, January 8). Top Causes of the Civil War. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/top-causes-of-the-civil-war-104532Pytelová, Z. (2010). Comparing the North and the South During the American Civil War.