CAUSES OF THE WAR

No-one appears to have reached a general agreement about the causes of the Civil War. Slavery, of course, was the most quoted cause but most historians believe that many factors, not just one, contributed to the development to the war. Slavery and the economic and political rivalry between the industrial North and agricultural South were fundamental issues.

A House Divided:

In 1860 the United States consisted of eighteen free States and fifteen slave States. Abraham Lincoln called the nation "A house divided...half slave and half free." (p447) Lincoln, who believed that all the states should be politically and economically united, won the presidential election of 1860. One of the outcomes of this electoral result was the abolishing of slavery in all America.

Secession:

Due to the doctrine of "States Rights", a state had a legal right to withdraw from the Union. Before the election, many Southern leaders had pushed for a secession , or withdrawal from the Union, if Lincoln should win. This was because Lincoln campaigned against slavery and for the preservation of the Union. Naturally, the South did not agree with these philosophies.

South Carolina was the first state to secede. By the time Lincoln was sworn in March, 1861, six other states (Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas) had followed. During February, 1861, in Montgomery, Alabama, representatives from these states met and established a Southern nation, The Confederate States of America. Jefferson Davis was elected President and Alexander Stephens Vice-president. As he was sworn in, Lincoln stated that the secession was illegal, and that he would hold any federal possessions in the South, thus avoiding any immediate threat of force against the South. However, one of the federal possessions in question was Fort Sumter which lay in the harbour of Charlston, South Carolina.

Fort Sumter:

The Confederates fired on the fort on April 12, and forced the garrison to surrender. Lincoln then called for troops to "enforce the nation's laws". The South regarded this as a declaration of war, and, as a result, Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina and Tennessee quickly joined the Confederacy. The Confederates chose Richmond in Virginia to be their capital. This may have been a mistake for Richmond was close to the Confederate / Union border. Consequently, its defence needed many soldiers which weakened the South's