Causes of the Civil War | Outcome and Consequences – Video & Lesson Transcript | Study.com

Causes of the Civil War

The causes of the Civil War can be narrowed down to four main aspects: states vs. federal rights, slavery, economics, and the election of Abraham Lincoln.

States vs. Federal Rights

Since the creation of the United States government, there had been a power struggle between the state and federal governments. In fact, before the Constitution was even ratified in 1788, the founding fathers argued about where the line between state power and federal power should lie. Southern states believed that statehood was consensual and states had the power to secede at any time. The North, of course, argued that this went against the founding fathers’ original idea of a union. The South also relied on having extended rights and power to keep a handle on their slave system on a more national level, such as the Fugitive Act of 1812 or the Dred Scott Decision. In the end, the South enjoyed having more liberal state laws while the North wanted a stronger federal government, which created both economic and political strife.

Slavery

Most historians agree that slavery is the core issue surrounding the Civil War. During his campaign, Lincoln had made it very clear that, if elected, he had planned to outlaw slavery as a show of federal power, which would upend the southern economy. It would also cripple the white south socially. In the North, abolitionism had become pretty widespread due to powerful figures like Frederick Douglass, an escaped slave-turned-philosopher, and William Lloyd Garrison, an American pastor and outspoken abolitionist. The movement was aided by puritan writings which also condemned slavery. The social divide over this issue furthered the effort to garner public support for a war.

Economics

As aforementioned, if abolition were to become the legal standard, the southern economy would be crippled. Of course, slavery is immoral no matter the economic implication, but the south was concerned with the economic downfalls since their entire way of living was built on this system. The southern economy was mainly based on farmland—specifically cotton and tobacco. Most of the work done on these farms was done by people who were enslaved at the time, and to take away the privilege of free labor would be to cripple most of the families who controlled the southern economy. To further complicate the situation, the south practiced rural production (farmland, small-town production), while the north had a more industrialized production (factory work), so neither side was able to empathize with the situation of the other. On top of this, the South often felt exploited by the North, as their tariffs were higher, but more federal money was spent on the North.

The Election of Abraham Lincoln

While there are several factors contributing to the secession of the South and the subsequent war, the breaking point was the election of Abraham Lincoln. Even though Lincoln is touted as a hero, in the election of 1860, he was simply one of four candidates running for office. Refer to the graph below for a more detailed breakdown of the candidates.

Abraham Lincoln (Winner)
Lincoln was a Republican from Illinois who was known for being the most liberal candidate. He won with support from 18 states and 180 electoral votes.

John C. Breckinridge
Breckinridge was a Southern Democrat who directly opposed most of Lincoln’s plans for office. He came in second with support from 11 of the southern states, garnering 72 electoral votes.

John Bell
Bell was a Constitutional Unionist who was Lincoln’s biggest competition in the north, gaining support from 3 states and receiving 39 electoral votes.

Stephen A. Douglass
Douglass was a northern Democrat who was supported by one northern state and received 12 electoral votes.

After Lincoln won, southern states saw no option but to secede, since Lincoln’s entire platform had been run on abolition and strengthening federal rights—two factors that the south was starkly against. South Carolina was the first state to secede. The south did not recognize Lincoln’s presidency, and after he was elected, tensions rose through what became known as “secession winter” until Lincoln’s inauguration and the official split.

Abraham Lincoln

Outcome of the War

The North eventually won due to the South’s lack of resources, and after the bloodiest war in American history, the United States was united again. After General Lee, the Confederacy’s lead general, got cut off from the remainder of his supplies at Appomattox County in Virginia, he raised the white flag and the war ended on April 9th, 1865. Both the Union and the Confederacy had some major changes to adapt to. In 1863, Lincoln had delivered the Emancipation Proclamation, in which he had proclaimed all slaves to be free as a show of federal strength. After the South’s surrender and re-entry, this applied to all slaves held in the South. Unfortunately, this victory seemed short-lived, as Lincoln was assassinated on April 14th, 1865.

Impact of the Civil War

The impact of the Civil War was two-fold. Within the government, federal powers were strengthened and the federal government was given power to hold legislature over the states. It also required the first income tax throughout the country. Following the Civil War, there was a complete shift in the way federal rights vs. states rights were viewed. During the war, the workplace saw a boom in women in the workplace, which did not change after the war ended. The biggest social change was that all 3.5 million slaves throughout the entire country were freed and Black Americans had the ability to participate within society—at least until Jim Crow laws and segregation.

Consequences of the Civil War

The South faced consequences for the war during the reconstruction era. Almost all of the wealth the South had boasted had been spent and the banks and railroads were all bankrupt, which left the South reeling and unsure of how to reintegrate. Reconstruction aimed to protect its citizens (all citizens, including newly recognized Black American citizens) while also rebuilding infrastructure and economy in the South. It is often looked upon negatively, as one of the goals was political reintegration, which was seen as a negative sort of disrespectful re-education for the Antebellum South despite the fact that it was necessary for unity. As ideologies spread and polarized ex-slave owners and abolitionists, a sense of anger and toxicity spread amongst Antebellum men and women. Shame and pressure from newly freed slaves did nothing to quell that anger, and narratives of violent slaves controlling the white population during the reconstruction era still run rampant even though they are untrue and ex-slaves integrated into society relatively painlessly, despite the animosity received from white counter-parts.

Lesson Summary

The Civil War was a war between the Union (Northern US States) and the Confederacy (Southern US States) lasting from 1861-1865. The reasons for the Civil War were disagreements over slavery, states vs. federal rights, the election of Abraham Lincoln, and the economy. After the inauguration of Lincoln in 1861, the South seceded and the Civil War officially started with the Battle at Fort Sumter. The war lasted for almost five years, ending April 9th, 1865 with General Lee’s surrender at Appomattox County, Virginia. The major outcomes of the war were a strengthening of federal power and the freedom of 3.5 million slaves, thanks to Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. Socially, this solidified the “right vs. left” mentality still seen in politics today and also decimated the Antebellum South. The Civil War led to the reconstruction era in the south as well. The reconstruction era was a period of social, economic and even physical rebuilding of the infrastructure of the south.