To What Extent Was The American Civil War Inevitable

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The American Civil War: Inevitable but Imperative?

The Civil War: unarguably one of the greatest battles in American history. It shaped the way our country is today, regarding our economy, society, and federal and state governments. But the question must be asked- could it have been avoided? Could the lives of hundreds and thousands of people have been saved?

Despite the arguments that a compromise could’ve been made to resolve the issue of slavery in the U.S., the Civil War was inevitable because slavery directly contradicted the central idea behind the United States that everyone should have freedom and representation. African-American enslaved people were given no rights at all and were horribly mistreated for centuries. However, it was also due to slave
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The Industrial Revolution was just beginning in the U.S, with the North implementing new systems of transportation and making machines for crafting textiles, and the South coming up with more efficient ways to harvest their cash crops, like rice and cotton. These new inventions helped to speed up and cheapen the process of making and exporting goods to other countries, which was extremely profitable for the U.S.

Despite having the additional support of the Industrial Revolution for their businesses, Southern plantation owners kept pushing for the continuation and expansion of slavery in America. Abolishing slavery and its immoral practices should’ve been a priority since it was horribly inhumane and was therefore far more important than making a little extra money, but they refused to back down. In the end, the only feasible solution was a war.

So despite all of the attempts and efforts made by people to avoid the Civil War, it was the only way that the United States of America could finally be rid of slavery. We as a nation were so strenuously divided that the only way to resolve the problem was, as Nat Turner believed,