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If our Civil War could be compared to a messy and contested divorce, we couldextend the metaphor further to its causes: irreconcilable differences. Thosedifferences were the causes and their effects would be long lasting. Let's look atthe main causes of the Civil War in terms of differences between the warringparties. How did we evolve from a relatively homogeneous country into "twodistinct and confrontational sections where, 'e pluribus unum' devolved into 'usversus them'?" [1]

According to Flagel, the top ten causes of the Civil War were:

1. Northern industrialization. Our country became two economic entities: Theindustrialized North and the agricultural, slave-holding South.

2. Population disparity. In 1860 there were 22 million northerners and 10 millionsoutherners, 4 million of which were slaves. Politically, the South, alreadyworried about its rights, was outvoted in Congress.

3. The debate over the morality of slavery. The polarizing moral arguments(abolitionists versus southern apologists) were as irreconcilable back then as ourongoing debate over abortion is now.

4. Southern nationalism and "states rights." The South became polarized andunified as they saw their struggle one of "David (the South) versus Goliath (theoppressive federal government).

5. Slavery's intrusion into free states. The Fugitive Slave Act, the Dredd ScotDecision, and the Supreme Court's ruling that outlawing slavery in any state wasunconstitutional miffed and frustrated northerners.

6. Northern nationalism through "union." Northerners tired of making concessionsto the minority "slavocracy." The idea of "union" was that the majority ruled andsouthern interests were undemocratic.

7. Territorial expansion. As "Manifest Destiny" resulted in war with Mexico and

the territory of the United States doubled, the issue of whether a territory wouldbe slave or free led to failed federal policies like "popular sovereignty." Whatwas intended was for the settlers to decide. What happened was "Bleeding Kansas"and a full-scale prelude to the Civil War.

8. Poor leadership. After Andrew Jackson left office in 1836, we had a successionof weak one-term Presidents, who seemed incapable of uniting our country.Likewise, national politicians tended to focus on rather than resolve what wasailing our disintegrating country.

9. The rise of the sectional political party. The Republican Party grew from andexisted to serve the interests of the North. When Lincoln won the presidency in1860 with 40 percent of the popular vote, but a majority of the electoral vote,

southern secession began. It could be argued that the Civil War started becausethe South lost a presidential election.

10. The South's dependence on slavery. Slave owners in the South truly believedthat Lincoln and the "Black Republicans" wanted to strip the south of theirslaves. Given the fact that about one-third of the South's financial worth (atotal of about $3 billion) was tied up in slaves, the South had a seriousfinancial stake in wanting to go their separate way.

What were the effects of the Civil War? For a start, the question of "statesrights" was resolved forever (in favor of the federal government). Slavery was

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abolished and citizenship and civil rights were granted (on paper at least) toformer slaves. Unfortunately, political expediency led to the end ofReconstruction, and the beginning of repressive southern Jim Crow laws. Racialprejudice remained an open wound on the American body politic for years and years,and we are still dealing with it today.

Source:[1] Flagel, Thomas R. "The History Buff's Guide to the Civil War," Cumberland

House: Nashville (2003), (p. 19-24)