No other facet of the American 
Civil War excites more 
controversy than a discussion 
of the motivating factors behind
the conflict.  To many, "the" 
reason for the war was the 
struggle over slavery; yet, 
while agreeing that without 
the disputes over the 
emancipation of the slaves 
armed conflict would never 
have occurred, most historians 
do not cite slavery as the 
direct cause of the war.  
Rather, the key forces behind 
the Civil War can be traced to 
the economic pressures of the 
time, as well as the American 
system of government's 
fundamental inexperience 
in dealing with internal 
disagreements.

In 1860, the Industrial 
Revolution was in full swing 
in the North, with the factories
of New England driving the 
economy.  The economic might 
of the South, meanwhile, hinged 
on the labor of the slaves to 
provide raw materials for their 
factories.  

The election of Abraham Lincoln,
who campaigned in part on an 
abolitionist platform, raised 
existing tensions within the 
nation to a fever pitch.  
Southern industrialists saw 
the event as a concerted effort 
by the North to bring an end to 
slavery and transfer political 
and economic power away from 
the South.  Rather than wait 
to see what Lincoln would 
propose, many began to fan 
the flames of secession.

On October 5, 1850, Governor 
Gist of South Carolina sent a 
letter to the governors of the 
other "Cottton States," 
expressing his concern for 
the consequences if Lincoln 
were to be elected president.  
Gist wrote that, "if a single 
state secedes, she will follow 
her; if no other state takes 
the lead, South Carolina will 
secede (in my opinion) alone, 
if she has any assurance that 
whe will soon be followed by 
another or other states."

The response to Gist's letter 
was far from overwhelming.  
Reactions varied from 
conditional support to 
outright refusal to secede 
without open hostility from 
the North.  Only Florida replied
with any enthusiasm to Gist's 
call, stating that she was 
"ready to wheel into line with 
the galland Palmetto State, or 
any other Cotton State or 
States."  It was not by 
coincidince that the start of 
the hostilities of the Civil 
War began with the attack on 
Fort Sumter - located in 
South Carolina.

In evaluating the causes of the
Civil War, it must be also 
remembered that the United 
States at the outbreak of 
conflict was a mere 85 years 
old - further, the 
Constitution was only 72 
years old.  Many in both the 
North and South were still 
unsure as to how the "United 
States" were meant to function. 

There is nothing in the 
Constitution that allows 
secession, yet the secessionist 
movement sought to justify 
their actions through language 
of the Declaration of 
Independence and the Tenth 
Ammendment to the Constitution, 
referring to certain rights and 
powers residing with the State 
not the Federal government.  
Overall, the Southern states 
felt that they could make a 
better attempt at understanding 
the ideas of the American 
Revoultion by no longer being a 
part of the Union.  Each state 
seceded by vote of state 
legislatures - only Texas put 
secession to a popular vote.

The American Civil War could be 
described, using extreme 
understatement, as "growing 
pains."  Though deep divisions 
existed between North and South,
the driving motive of both sides
was a firm belief in the tenets 
underlying the Declaration of 
Independence.