Causes of the Civil War.

Essay by SNOldak924Junior High, 8th grade January 2004

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The five main causes of the Civil War were the formation of the Confederate States of America, sectionalism, the secession of the Southern states, the Kansas-Nebraska Act, and the Missouri Compromise of 1820. At the time, many events angered both the North and the South. Those causes were the most influential, and had the largest impact on the progression of pre-war hostility.

On February 4, 1861, delegates from six states met in Montgomery, Alabama to discuss the formation of a new nation. They would call it The Confederate States of America. Eleven states formed a confederacy, and thought of themselves as a country independent of the United States of America. This irritated the United States, and showed how the Confederate States thought that they were free. This contributed to the growing tension by forming a clear boundary that separated the two nations.

Sectionalism was also a very significant root of the Civil War.

Sectionalism in general is stress between parts of a country. In 1850, it was used to represent hatred between the North and the South. Sectionalism divided the North and the South. The regions had different economic and political views, which resulted in conflicts. Many different sources contributed to sectionalism between the two regions, including abolitionism and the Dred Scott Decision. Sectionalism provided many reasons for the both areas to detest each other, which helped move the countries to war.

Eleven states seceded from the United States in 1861. Those were Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. This was a major factor of the Civil War, and formed aggression. The secession of the southern states prompted Abraham Lincoln to declare that states cannot lawfully leave the union. The secession proved that the southern states were ready for action,