The Civil War was, and will remain, a very important page in the book of American history. Although it is perhaps not so obvious, we find that there were several causes that led to the Civil War. Had we realized that the consequence would be a bloody war, such as our then young nation had never before seen, perhaps we would have been able to create peace before it was too late. We see that there are four main causes to the Civil War: disputes over the states’ rights between the Federalists and the Anti-federalists, disputes over slavery between the North and the South, disputes over tariff prices, and the economic and cultural differences between the Northern states and the Southern states.

            The first dispute that led to the Civil War was the debate over states’ rights. During the nineteenth century, two parties, the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists, expressed opposing views. The Federalists saw that the American government should lead and control the states to the best of its ability. In addition, they believed the government should have ultimately more control or power than that given to the states. On the other hand, the Anti-Federalists saw that the states should have more control than the government. In other words, the people should have more power to govern themselves individually that the government should have. Furthermore, the Articles of Confederation supported the idea that the states should have more authority than the Confederate government, which led to the formation of the Anti-Federalists. However, the Constitution stated that the federal government should dominate over the states, which led to the formation of the Federalists. Hence, the first step on the road to war was taken.

            Additionally, the second dispute that led to the Civil War was the disagreement over slavery. From colonial times until the late nineteenth century, slavery was, so unfortunately, a dominant and active part of the soil that created the United States. In 1804, all Northern states officially abolished slavery. At this point, the Southern states feared that sooner rather than later, the federal government would pass a law abolishing slavery in all the nation’s states. It must be understood that, although slavery is a heinous act, the Southern economy has been built on slave labor since the formation of the thirteen colonies. Therefore, the abolition of slavery would have meant utter economic collapse. On the other hand, the Northern economy has almost always been highly industrialized. Thus, they did not need slave labor in order to maintain steady economic growth. In fact, we might go so far as to say that their economy might have highly benefited from free labor since it allowed Northerners more skilled industrial workers.

            Moreover, the third dispute that led to the Civil War was the argument over tariff prices. During the nineteenth century, the United States imported goods from several nations in all continents. This fact slowly advanced the U.S on the ladder leading to the title of “world power,” which it was granted in the twentieth century. On the one hand, the North, a highly industrialized group of states, saw tariffs as excellent opportunities to increase the prices of imported goods, which were slowly competing with the goods manufactured and produced in the Northern states. Consequently, it is not surprising that Northern states favored high tariff prices. On the other hand, the South, a more agricultural-based group of states, saw high tariffs as cumbersome and wholly unnecessary. Instead, they favored low tariffs because they believed lower tariffs would lead to lower costs as far as those of manufactured goods. They also believed that low tariffs would allow them the opportunity to export raw merchandises such as cotton to other nations abroad.

            Finally, the fourth cause of the Civil War was not a dispute, but merely the differences between the North and the South. As previously stated, the North had an industrialized economy while the South had an economy that was completely supported by agriculture. Thus, the Northerners had a specific culture or way of life that by no means corresponded with that of the Southerners. Therefore, the North never did understand why the South was so determined to maintain slavery as part of its economy. Nor did the South ever understand why the North wished to raise tariff prices. If the two protagonists could not see the world through each other’s eyes, then is it so surprising that a common antagonist, war, would cultivate in their midst?

            In conclusion, there are several causes that led to the Civil War, most of which could have been prevented, all of which have grown deep roots prior to the American Revolution. We see that the Civil War was not merely a dispute over slavery but rather a series of disputes over various aspects dominant in nineteenth century U.S.A. We also realize that the debates between the North and the South have sprouted, not due to personal prejudices or respective opinions, but rather to the ultimate inability of each “party” to understand the other’s point of view. Hence, the United States was not “united” at all, much less a nation. It was a series of conflicts between a scattered group of states. Eventually, these conflicts expanded until they culminated into the Civil War.