To What extent was slavery the key cause of the American Civil War? - page 1
Keywords: slavery, causes of the american civil war
By ROYDS on 29/09/2008
Level: A Level (Year 12) / AS Level
Page Number: 1 of 8 pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
To What extent was slavery the key cause of the American Civil War?
The causes of the American Civil war can perhaps be linked to one particular issue, that of slavery. In December 1860 Lincoln wrote to the vice-president of the confederate states, Alexander Stephens and added, “You think slavery is right and ought to be extended, while we think it is wrong and ought to be restricted…. It certainly is the only substantial difference between us,” this is ultimately right though we cannot be so straightforward as historians and blame the tensions and differences between north and south on one issue. Before we can make a fair judgement, other fundamental problems must be looked into, Sectionalism - economical, social and political as well as divisions over state rights and the conflict of cultures must all be assessed in their role towards Civil War. Only then can it be determined whether they were a cause of dispute or actually a cause of War.
It is clear that at the centre of the separation between north and south, was the south’s ‘Peculiar Institution’ – slavery, which perhaps lead to Civil War. Slave trade was abolished in 1808 but not slavery itself. Northern states had already abolished slavery and in 1787 congress passed an ordinance that kept slavery out of the North West territory, officially. The north was able to abolish slavery because industry and urbanisation was taking over agriculture. Unlike the north the south were reluctant to embrace new technology and the vast majority (80%) of southern workers were employed in agriculture on the eve of war compared to only 40% in the north, indeed later historians such as Charles and Mary Beard in the 1920’s suggested that the war can be seen in terms of “a capitalist North fighting against a feudal South.” The southern conditions however, (swamps, diseases and humidity) favoured large plantation agriculture, which made profit by offering large amount of cheap labour for Negros that white labourers would not accept. Slaves formed the backbone of the labour force in the south. The south was very confident in its economic strength, exports in 1860 were worth $192million of a total US export of $333. This would not have happened if Eli Whitney had not invented the cotton ‘gin’ which made cotton production much more profitable (easier to take short-fibre cotton from its seed). The ‘gin’ could do the work of 50
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