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Civil War DBQ

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What really caused the Civil War?

The Civil War was a war known to many. Between April 1861 to about May 1865, Northern and Southern American soldiers geared up for the nation’s first Civil War. It was fought mainly on key differences of principals and viewpoints of the North and South. Many people think the main or only cause of the Civil War was slavery, however there are many different aspects that led up to the war. The North and South had very different economies and ways of life. They tried to make compromises to suit both parties, but they never fully satisfied anyone. Of the many plausible causes of the Civil War, economic differences leading to divisions of wealth, slavery, differences in population and politics all led to the Civil …show more content…
Slaves were people who were forced into free labor. During this time, most of the slaves were imported from Africa and forced to work for plantation owners. The South had an abundance of slaves, while the North had very few. This was tricky because their were free states in the North that weren’t allowed to own slaves, but the border states of the North were responsible for a small number of slave population. Document B of What Caused the Civil War DBQ shows that the Northern border states had about 430,000 slaves. That doesn’t seem like a small amount until you compare it to the 3,500,000 slaves the South had. Document A also shows the slave density in the South, which is relevant in the way the South made their money. Without these thousands of slaves to work their plantations, Southern farmers would not be able to produce as many crops that they would with all these people working for free. With slavery, came opinions. The North wasn’t totally supportive of the South owning all these slaves and Southern ways and mannerisms. Document H of What Caused the Civil War is propaganda saying that the slaves are treated well beyond measure. The document compares the slaves to the Northern factory workers. It makes is seem as though the slaves are getting better treatment than free laborers in the North. Also, document K can serve as evidence of how the North feels about the South. They weren’t in support of …show more content…
The North was way more populated than the South. Document B of What Caused the Civil War shows that the North was almost 3 times as populated as the South. They had way more people, meaning they would get privileges that the South wouldn’t because they didn’t have as many people. An example would be Document C, the South is complaining about how they don’t contribute to anything in literature or education and that they have to depend on the North for everything involving innovations or advancements. Most wouldn’t be able to see how population is related to this document, but more people would equal more jobs. The North had a lot of people so they would have plenty of people to work in those factories where they manufactured goods, leaving extra people to do the creative or knowledgable jobs. Having a higher population left room for individuality. Representation also comes along with population. The South would never have equal representation as the North because they would never be able to keep up with the North’s population growth. In the Background Essay of What Caused the Civil War, it mentions the ⅗ Compromise. Which basically says that slaves would count as ⅗ of taxation and representation. The South wanted the slaves that they own to count as people because they wanted to get as much power as they could in government, but the North also wanted to tax the South

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