From 1861-1865, The United States were in a Civil War within Itself. The two sides were the Confederates, the South, and the Union, the North. This great conflict had many causes. The first major cause of the Civil War was the Missouri Compromise. The second main cause of the Civil War was the reaction to John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry. The last of the major causes was Abraham Lincoln’s election in 1860 and the South’s secession.
The very first major cause of the American Civil War was the Missouri Compromise infuriated the Southerners. First, the Missouri Compromise was an agreement that Missouri would join the US as a slave state and Maine would join as a free state (notes). This angered the South because …show more content…
First, Abraham Lincoln was elected, in 1860, as the sixteenth president of the United States (notes). This made the South mad because Lincoln was anti-slavery. A large majority of the South was pro-slavery. Second, three months after Lincoln’s election, the South seceded (notes).They seceded because they did not like the fact that there new president was completely anti-slavery. Lastly, Lincoln asked General Robert E. Lee to go fight in the South. General Lee reluctantly declined because he did not want to fight against Virginia, his home state (notes). In conclusion, this is how Abraham Lincoln’s election and the South’s secession helped cause the Civil War.
Some of the biggest reasons that the American Civil War was started were the Missouri Compromise, the reaction to John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry, and Abraham Lincoln’s election and the South’s secession. The Missouri compromise angered the South because it stopped them from transferring slaves to the North. The reaction to John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry was not good in the South. Lincoln’s election caused the South to secede and Lincoln began sending troops to go fight in the South. In Summary, the American Civil War’s main cause was the South’s