The Civil War: It Didn't Happened as I learned in High School

Prior to this course, I had very finite knowledge about the Civil War and the causes that led to it. As an immigrant, I came into this country incognizant about much of American history and in this case the civil war. Alas, going to a predominately white middle and high school was futile in my apprehension of black history and its origins. Certainly, through various history classes I took, I was acquainted with basis of the Civil War such as the date it commenced and ended, those who were entailed in it and the elementary cause of the war. Through the research and scholarship presented about the war through this class and the videos assigned, I have a better apprehension of the numerous causes that lead to the Civil War.

I learned that of the many reasons that ignited the Civil, the four principal causes were Slavery, The Constitution, The Abolitionist Movement. Although the issue of states' rights, the existence of slavery, ineffectual leadership, and each region's perceptions of the other's intentions contributed to the war, none of these issues were a main cause of this historic event. The expansion of slavery and sectionalism were one of the primary causes of the Civil War because it created strain between the North and the South, likewise the industrial and sectional differences between the two areas also contributed to cause of the war. Another important component to what lead to the Civil War was the 3/5 compromise which stated that the population of slaves would be counted as three-fifths in total when apportioning Representatives, as well as Presidential electors and taxes. Moreover, the Abolitionist Movement also caused tension between the North and the South to escalate, Abolitionists in the North opposed the practice of slavery and condemned the lifestyle of those in the South, their dependency on the labor force and maltreatment of African slaves. Lastly, the Republican Party and the nomination of Abraham Lincoln as the 16^th president of the United States caused a rift between the states and eventually led to the succession of slave states such as South Carolina, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, Florida and Georgia to form what was known as the Confederate States of America.