Why was tthe American Civil War inevitable, and why was it not inevitable?

Question

I know it had to do with slavery but what are some other points that led to the start of th civil war.

Answer 1

I think it was inevitable. The slavery issue was the major point of contention that led to the Civil War. The issue of slavery in the territories had led to violence before the war.

The slavery issue had not been dealt with adequately at the founding of the country and it simmered and was disputed for decades. Note that the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 had forbidden slavery in the territories that belonged to the new nation.

Some Northerners were less concerned about the morality of slavery than they were about the unfair competition that would result from the expansion of slavery into the territories.

The election of Lincoln, whom the Southerners described in their secession documents as “hostile to slavery,” was the flashpoint for the start of the war.

The slavery issue had been hotly debated in the decade before the Civil War and was the primary reason for the formation of the Republican Party in 1854. The Declarations of Causes of Secession that were issued by several southern states, explain the reasons for secession, i.e. slavery. Secession caused the war.

The Declarations of Causes of Secession are very interesting reading.

Answer 2

It was not as much about slavery as they want you to think. It was also about states rights. Certain states wanted the right to choose if they would allow slavery among other things. The federal government did not want to give them this much power. The southern states wanted to succeed from the union, to form their own. Soon after that all hell broke loose, and the civil war began. Eventually the north won, slavery was constitutionally abolished, and the southern states remained united with the northern.

So why was it inevitable.... because the states had rights, and wanted to keep those rights. While the slaves had rights, and the federal government wanted them to be able to exercise those rights.

Why was it not inevitable... because just about every other nation on the planet was able to abolish slavery without a civil war. We had to turn it into a political battle that almost split the nation in two.

Answer 3

Actually.. slavery was an after thought. The war was about power. The states wanted to flex their power (back then the states had more power than they do now) and the national government didn't like that/didn't agree with their flex.

After the war, the states power was limited compared to it's level before... the national government became much more powerful, so as to prevent this from happening again.


The discrepancy in who had the real power is what made the war inevitable.