Causes Of The American Civil War

            The South, which was known as the Confederate States of America, .
             seceded from the North, which was also known as the Union, for many .
             different reasons. The reason they wanted to succeed was because there .
             was four decades of great sectional conflict between the two. Between .
             the North and South there were deep economic, social, and political .
             differences. The South wanted to become an independent nation. There .
             were many reasons why the South wanted to succeed but the main reason .
             had to do with the North's view on slavery. All of this was basically.
             a different interpretation of the United States Constitution on both .
             sides. In the end all of these disagreements on both sides led to the .
             Civil War, in which the North won.
             There were a few reasons other then the slavery issue, that the .
             South disagreed on and that persuaded them to succeed from the Union. .
             Basically the North favored a loose interpretation of the United.
             States Constitution. They wanted to grant the federal government .
             increased powers. The South wanted to reserve all undefined powers to .
             the individual states. The North also wanted internal improvements .
             sponsored by the federal government. This was more roads, railroads, .
             and canals. The South, on the other hand, did not want these projects .
             to be done at all. Also the North wanted to develop a tariff. With a .
             high tariff, it protected the Northern manufacturer. It was bad for .
             the South because a high tariff would not let the south trade its .
             cotton for foreign goods. The North also wanted a good banking and .
             currency system and federal subsidies for shipping and internal .
             improvements. The South felt these were discriminatory and that they .
             favored Northern commercial interests.
             Now the main reason for the South's secession was the Slavery .
             issue. Basically the South wanted and needed it and the North did not .
             want it at all. The South was going to do anything they could to keep .
             it. This was the issue that overshadowed all others.