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Political Causes Of The Civil War

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cember 2015 The causes of the Civil War can be examined from countless angles, depending on the historian. Michael F. Holt and Bruce Levine are two historians that examine the causes of the civil war from two different perspectives. Holt is more concerned with the growing political sectionalism that causes the Civil War, while Levine argues that the economic divisions between the North and the South contributes a lot to the birth of the Civil War. Each argument is well thought out, historically accurate, and provides the reader with new perspective on the causes of the Civil War. In Levine’s article, “The Economic Divisions That Contributed to the Civil War”, he claims that in order to answer the questions of the Civil War, it must be examined …show more content…

He first explains how the differences between the Republicans, the North, and the Democrats, the South, caused escalating sectional conflict between the two (Holt). These straining differences come from the fact that one group is pro-slavery and the other group is anti-slavery (LEP). This fundamental difference in interest causes a more tense situation and relations between the two sides. Then after setting the scene, he explains that on top of all that tension, the reorganization of the government in the 1850s led to the Civil War and produce strained relations. This reorganization of the government also includes the rise of new political parties (LEP). The 1850s crisis only expanded the amount of pressure. Bills like, the Kansas-Nebraska that allowed settlers of that territory vote whether or not they would allow slavery in the state, pitted Northerners against the Southerners. Additionally, events like the “Bleeding Kansas”, the caning of Charles Sumner by Preston Brooks, the Pottawatomie Massacre, the Lecompton Constitution, Dred Scott Decision, and the Harper 's Ferry Attacks, led to major conflicts against the two parties (LEP). This government disorder played a significant role in leading America into Civil …show more content…

Even though the Civil War was largely influenced by the political sectionalism, that the actual road to the Civil War was a mixed of economic, political, and social differences that pitted the North against the South. As the Southerners became more and more entrenched in slavery, it was impossible for the Southerner to escape from it because the wealth and power it brought the Southerners, while the North’s economy was not dependent upon slavery and they were able to view how inhuman it is. The mixture of these two factors makes the Civil War

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