Causes of the Civil War - Essay Example

The North and the South regions of the country were very different from each other in economic sphere. While the northern regions were industrial developed and people living there "earned their living producing iron, steel, machinery, and cloth in factories" (American History - Overview), the southern part of the USA was oriented to agricultural goods production. Since Missouri Compromise of 1820 the territory of the country had been divided into two parts: industrialised North and agricultural South.

The Northern states used paid workers labor who worked in different branches of industry while Southern states used slaves' labor; slaves worked in plantations growing cotton, rice, tobacco and sugar. Such differences between the two parts of the country are the main cause of the Civil War. This development disproportion goes back to the early 1800s when "the Northern states were rapidly becoming industrialized. The population of Northern cities increased" (American History - Overview). Such disproportion resulted in irreconcilable contradictions between the North and the South, and these contradictions in turn resulted in the Civil War between the North and the South.

There are also two indirect causes of the Civil War. These are slavery and states' rights. . Slavery adherents argued that slavery was economically profitable and not wrong. But many slaves didn't want to suffer from their masters' exploitation and fought against it. Some of them came to the North where people had possibility to be paid for their work. Against those who ran away from their masters strict measures were initiated1. But in the same time many slaves took their position for granted considering that it is their destiny and they would be awarded after death.

In the 1800s some states of the Southern part of the United States "argued that it was the right of the state to decide whether or not to allow slavery. This right and others are sometimes referred to as 'states' rights.'" (American History - Overview). From this point of view the following documents are especially interesting: these are William H. Seward's Irrepressible Conflict Speech and "Houses Divided" Speech by Abraham Lincoln. William H. Seward, democrat, convicted slavery asserting that "The slave system is one of constant danger, distrust, suspicion, and watchfulness.

It debases those whose toil alone can produce wealth and resources for defense, to the lowest degree of which human nature is capable." (William H. Seward, 1858). He gives examples of slavery in different countries and epochs, such as in Russia, Turkey and some others. He underlines that slavery cannot exist in democratic countries: "In states where the free-labor system prevails, universal suffrage necessarily obtains, and the state inevitably becomes, sooner or later, a republic or democracy" (William H.

Seward, 1858). Abraham Lincoln, republican, was more decisive. He appealed to refuse from slavery and points out that it is impossible for one country