preview

How Did The South Cause The Civil War

Decent Essays

The institution of slavery swiftly divided the Americans eventually causing the Civil War. Since the founding of the colonies, the southern colonies drastically differed from its New England neighbors. For example, South Carolina divided because the southern region exploited slavery for the production of cash crops, such as tobacco and sugar while the northern region held different political beliefs and specialized in lumber for ship making. Eventually, this division led to the creation of two new states—North and South Carolina. Similarly, slavery worsened this divide among Americans eventually causing the creation of two new nations—The Union and the Confederacy. Both sides held opposing beliefs and because neither would succumb, the method …show more content…

According to this rule, a slave was considered three fifths of a person. Thus, Southern states employed slaves as a boost in order to compete against northern politicians. Preston described slavery as the South’s “political equality” (Preston). The North contained the most populous states that, by working together, could dominate American politics. Although the South housed fewer citizens as compared to the North, it did include massive numbers of African American slaves. With this ruling, those slave numbers would increase the political power of the South, thus balancing American politics. In this way, Southern states allowed slavery to embed itself deeply into the political form of American life. Another political issue, the Federal Government prohibited slavery in the future states restricting citizens from relocating. Slaves were considered property, and this created issues when dealing with the formation of new states. Citizens who desired to relocate to a new state with all of their property—slaves too—could not, because if the state was classified as a free state, those citizens were not allowed to move there. This restriction enraged Southerners, because it indirectly denied American citizens of their

Get Access