Civil War

            There is an ongoing debate between historians as to whether or not slavery has been overemphasized as the cause of the Civil War. However, upon further research, one may find that slavery was the underlying foundation on which the Civil War was based. The origins of the slavery issue date back to the beginning of this "democratic experiment" called the United States of America. The deep economic, social, and political differences between the North and South were prompted and intensified by the issue of slavery. .
             During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, substantial economic differences had developed between the North and the South. The North had a predominantly industrial economy, based on factories and other industrialized businesses. For this reason, many of the new immigrants settled in the North, while very few settled in the South. This influx of population, along with technological advantages caused by industry, helped to shift the balance of power in favor of the North. This, in turn incited fear of northern domination of the South. Though these advantages helped to empower the North, the Northern States still relied on Southern agriculture for its industry, i.e. cotton.
             Cotton was a substantial cash crop in the South. However, the ability to grow the cotton was limited due to the two types: long staple and short staple cotton. The long staple cotton had seeds that were easy to remove, but could not be grown everywhere in the South. On the other hand, short staple cotton could be grown throughout the South, but had seeds that were difficult to extract. In 1793, a man by the name of Eli Whitney built a machine that revolutionized cotton picking in the Southern states: the cotton gin. This device separated the cotton and the seeds with ease. Thus, the expansion of cotton growth throughout the South ensued. The increase in the production of cotton led to the proliferation in the need for slaves.