The Background of the Civil War

The Civil War. It was the bloodiest we’d ever seen. What had brought the rich, powerful, and growing United States to such a pass? The reasons were many. In the early 1800’s the Northern states, especially those in New England, turned from farming to manufacturing. But in the South, farming remained the most important way of making a living. Southern planters found cotton and tobacco to be their most profitable crops, and they used black slaves to work their fields.

Slavery was introduced into what is now the United States in 1619, when a Dutch merchant ship brought 20 black Africans to Jamestown, Virginia, and sold them to the colonists. For years the whole country practiced black slavery, but it soon disappeared in the North. One reason was that the Africans could not stand harsh winters in the North. Another was the high price of slaves. A sturdy field hand cost up to $1,800, and small landowners, in both the North and South, could not afford to keep slaves. Finally, as the North turned toward industry, mechanics rather than farmhands were needed.

Conditions were different in the South. To meet a rising worldwide demand for cotton and tobacco, the planters farmed large areas of land. Slave labor seemed best suited for producing these crops, and the number of black slaves increased.

Slavery Becomes an Issue

As slavery spread, sentiment against it began to grow. People felt it was morally wrong for one human being to own another. In 1808 the United States Government passed a law forbidding the slave trade. This meant that captains of ships could no longer haul cargoes of black Africans to Southern ports in the United States and sell them at auction.

However, this law did not affect slaves already in the country, and slavery continued to flourish in the South. But by the 1840’s a movement to abolish slavery had taken root in the North. The people who supported this movement were called abolitionists.

Not only slavery but also the question of states’ rights had long caused problems within the United States. Did the federal government have the power under the Constitution to control the states in all matters?

“No!” roared the South.

The Nation Moves Closer to War

Thus, because of slavery and states’ rights, a wide rift developed between North and South. The situation worsened in October, 1859, when John Brown and a devoted band of followers captured the United States Arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia. Brown called on the slaves in the surrounding countryside “to rise up and destroy” their masters.