Civil War Position Paper Essay

The American Civil War almost tore early America and its population apart. Still today people debate weather slavery was the primary cause for the war. In this paper I will explain why I believe slavery was not the primary cause of the American Civil War. Also I will point out many other factors that may have played a bigger role in the cause of the Civil War. Southern states believed STRONGLY in states’ rights. States’ rights are the belief that one should be loyal to their state instead of the country as a whole, also they believed that states should be able to make their own laws to their liking without having to answer to the country. This alone created tension between the southern states and the northern states for northern states felt that the constitution clearly stated that states can create laws as long as they do not conflict with the laws of the country. In addition to the tension between the north and south congress placed a tax on goods bought outside of the country otherwise known as tariffs. In 1828 and 1832, congress raised tariffs higher and higher. These taxes were hated by the southern states for they did not have many factories unlike they’re northern counterparts, and thus they paid tariffs more often. In one instance a southern state refused to pay the tariff nullifying the tax congress had placed this event known as the nullification crisis drove the wedge between the north and south further The bloody fighting between northern and southern voters in Kansas was another step in the path of the civil war. Due to the popular sovereignty act suggested by Senator Stephen Douglas the people where able to vote on whether that territory would’ve been a free state or a slave state, this caused voters from both the north and the south to pour into these states hoping to tip the scale in their favor in doing this conflict between the two erupted as homes were burned and people were murdered. In conclusion I do not believe that slavery was the primary cause of the civil war. My reason for thinking this is because of all the events that the country had to push though on top of slavery. For starters states rights, tariffs, nullification crisis, the Kansas Nebraska act, and the bleeding Kansas scare all played a bigger part in the cause of the civil war rather then slavery.