How the Civil War Began

From blood to political outrage, the lead up to the Civil War may be one of the most exciting time periods in history. The debates between the North and South leading in to the Civil War led to many casualties, tears and eventually the Civil War which gave slaves freedom. This time period also included many attempted compromises, which just ended up causing more anger. The Civil War began because of economic differences between the North and the South, the argument over State's Rights, and the actions of John Brown during Bleeding Kansas.

Before the Civil War, there was an extreme difference in economies between the North and the South. Because of the wealth of the South and economic struggles of the North, the two sides clashed. The economy eventually became so bad that the Panic of 1857 occurred, a short downfall in the American economy. The North attempted to increase tariffs, but the South did not allow it. Instead, the North decreased in spending cuts, which cut back on a Homestead Act, land grants for colleges, and improvements for the clamoring Great Lakes region. The North's willingness to listen to the South and not raise taxes, and instead cutting back on important aspects of the North's life showed a clear sign of the power the South was holding over the North. The North did not see it coming, however the complete disrespect the slave holding Southerners showed to the non-slave holding Northerners made it clear that the South was intent on destroying the farmers and workers in the North. Since the South showed disrespect to the North and their lifestyle, they had no problem disrespecting the North again with secession. When the South seceded, the North would refuse to let that happen and thus the beginning of the bloodiest war in American history began, the Civil War (The Panic).

Before the Civil War began, the North's and the South's ideas were growing further and further apart, and the argument over what rights the states should have and what rights the Federal Government should have was reborn and intense. State's Rights was not a new idea by any means. In fact, during the creation of our country, arguments over State's Rights occurred as well as periods of time in the 1820's and 1830's. During this argument, the South argued for a weak central government, with states controlling most of the laws, and the North argued opposite. This is because the South believed that legal compromises such as the Compromise of 1850, the Kansas-Nebraska Act, and the idea of popular sovereignty all favored the North. The South was getting tired of these unfavorable compromises and wanted to gain a little more power to make laws for themselves. However, this argument was going nowhere and the South threatened secession, which eventually led to secession, which led to the Civil War (State's).

The actions of John Brown during bleeding Kansas played a large role in why the Civil War began (Murphy). In 1854, the U.S. Congress created the Kansas Territory. Whether it would become a slave or a free state was up to its citizens--so abolitionist Northerners and proslavery Southerners plied their influence on the settlers. Others took the direct route: they rushed into the