Montserrat Navarro

Period 02

The Inevitable Civil War

Although the North and the South had economic and political differences, their

fundamental division could have made the Civil War inevitable.

The North’s economic status had smaller farmsteads rather than large plantations. Their

industry flourished and had more available natural resources than the South. Transportation was

easier in the North because they had twice the density of railroads per square mile. In the South,

because of the fertile soil and warm climate, 84% of large farms took over the area. Since the

agriculture was so profitable, few Southerners saw a need for industrial development. They were

able to produce all the food they needed, but transporting it to soldiers and civilians was a major

problem. The North and South could of came to an agreement according to each economic

strength because the North manufactured 96% of its railroad locomotives, which they could have

come to terms with the South to transport crops which would have increased the population on

both sides considering the South claimed nine million people while the North had nearly 21

million. The value of exports would increase in the South to more than 32% whereas factories in

the North would be able to earn more money and the Union and Confederates would be living

the American dream.

Due to the Northerners belonging to the Whig/Republican political party, most people

were likely to have careers in medicine, education, or business while the children were more

prone to attending school. In the South, men belonged to the Democratic political party and

leaned towards military and agricultural careers. Combining business with agriculture and
medicine with military, both sides could of had great wealth and a healthier army of men. Failure

of American leadership between 1846 and 1861 was represented in key events such as the Dred

Scott Supreme Court decision of 1857 and Senator Douglas’s Kansas Nebraska act of 1854. The

events overturned the previous Missouri compromise which stood nearly 30 years and brought

the nations head to head. The Wilmot proviso bill proposed to eliminate slavery in the territories

acquired from Mexico as a result of the Mexican war as a signal to the South that the North was

plotting against its way of life. Although the bill was not passed, Lincoln was the final straw with

which the South believed the Northern conspirators would be able to gain the upper hand and

bring destruction on the South. Had the compromise been utilised, the war might have been

postponed.

According to slavery, most Northerners were moderates and not really concerned about

the moral aspect of slavery. Slavery was not a big moral cause of the Union effort until Lincoln

announced the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. Southerners defended slavery saying it was

better than the capitalist system in which workers were nothing more than used for labor. They

argued that they received food, healthcare, shelter and even old age security. Slaves helped the

South with agriculture where the North bought most of their crops from. Coming into an

agreement, the Civil War might of never been in our textbooks.

Word Count: 510