TEN CAUSES of the War Between the States
by James King
I respectfully
disagree with those who claim that the War Between the States was
fought over slavery or that the abolition of slavery in the Revolutionary
Era or early Federal period would have prevented war. It is my opinion
that war was inevitable between North and South due to complex political
and personal differences. The famous Englishman Winston Churchill
stated that the war between North and South was one of the most
unpreventable wars in history. The Cause that the Confederate States
of America fought for (1861-1865) was Southern Independence from
the United States of America. Many parallels exist between the War
for American Independence ( 1775-1783 ) and the War for Southern
Independence.There were 10 political causes of the war —one of which was
slavery– which was a scapegoat for all the differences that existed
between the North and South. The Northern industrialists had wanted
a war since about 1830 to get the South’s resources ( land-cotton-coal-timber-minerals
) for pennies on the dollar. All wars are Economic and are always
fought between centralists and decentralists.In 1215 when the Barons of England forced King John to sign the
Magna Carta the decentralists won. In 1783 when the peace treaty
was signed ending the American Revolution the decentralists won.
In 1865 the centralists won when The War Between The States ended
with Southern defeat.The North would have found an excuse to invade the South even
if slavery had never existed. Slavery was just a convenient excuse
and scapegoat for Northern agression.The Northern hypocrites conveniently forgot that it was the 5
Northern states of Massachusetts,Connecticut,New Hampshire,Rhode
Island and New York that had imported the slaves from Africa to
America. They had state owned and private owned fleets of ships.There was nearly a war (1828-1832) over the tariff when South
Carolina passed nullification laws. The U.S. Congress had increased
the tariff rate on imported products to 40% (known as the tariff
of abominations in Southern states). This crisis had nothing to
do with slavery. If slavery had never existed –period–or had
been eliminated at the time the Declaration of Independence was
written in 1776 or anytime prior to 1860 it is my opinion that
there would still have been a war sooner or later.On a human level there were 4 causes of the war–New England
Greed–New England Fanatics–New England Zealots–and New England
Hypocrites. During "So Called Reconstruction" the New
England Industrialists got what they had really wanted for 40
years–THE SOUTH’S RESOURCES FOR PENNIES ON THE DOLLAR. They would
have found some excuse for a war and invasion of the South to
get what they had long wanted.The 10 political causes are :
1. TARIFF–Prior to the war about 75% of the money to operate
the Federal Government was derived from the Southern States via
an unfair sectional tariff and 50% of the total 75% was from just
4 Southern states–Virginia-North Carolina-South Carolina and
Georgia. Only 10% of this tax money was being returned to the
South. The Southern states were being treated as an agricultural
colony of the North and bled dry. Read John Randolph’s (of Virginia)
remarks in opposition to the tariff of 1820. The North claimed
that they fought the war to preserve the Union but the New England
Industrialists who were in control of the North were actually
supporting war to maintain and increase the money they were receiving
from the tariff. The industrialists wanted the South to pay for
the industrialization of America at no expense to themselves.In
the 21st century such political handouts are known as Corporate
Welfare.2. CENTRALIZATION VERSUS STATES RIGHTS—The United States of
America was founded as a Constitutional Federal Republic in 1789
composed of a Limited Federal Government and Sovereign States.
The North wanted to and did alter the form of Government this
nation was founded upon. The Confederate States of America fought
to preserve Constitutional Limited Federal Government as established
by Americas founding fathers, most of whom, were Southern Gentlemen
from Virginia. Thus Confederate soldiers were fighting for rights
that had been paid for in blood by their forefathers upon the
battlefields of the American Revolution. Abraham Lincoln had a
blatant disregard for The Constitution of the United States of
America and his War of Aggression against the South changed America
from a Constitutional Federal Republic to a Democracy and broke
the original Constitution.3. CHRISTIANITY VERSUS SECULAR HUMANISM–The South believed in
basic Christianity as presented in the Holy Bible–the North was
full of Socialists and Atheists–Southerners were afraid of what
kind of country America might become if the North had it’s way.
Secular Humanism is the belief that there is no God and that man,science
and government can solve all problems. This philosophy advocates
human rather than Christian values. The infamous socialist Karl
Marx sent Lincoln a letter of congratulations when he was reelected
in 1864. A number of European Socialists came to America and fought
for the North.4. CULTURAL DIFFERENCES–Southerners and Northerners were of
different Genetic Lineages. Southerners were primarily of Western
English (original Britons),Scottish,and Irish linage (Celtic)
whereas Northerners tended to be of Anglo-Saxon and Danish (Viking)
extraction. The two cultures had been at war and at odds for over
1000 years before they arrived in America. Our ancient ancestors
in Western England under King Arthur humbled the Saxon princes
at the battle of Baden Hill ( circa 497 AD –516 AD ). This culture
clash that occurred 1861-1865 had been brewing for 1500 years.5. CONTROL OF WESTERN TERRITORIES–The North wanted to control
Western States and Territories such as Kansas and Nebraska. New
England formed Immigrant Aid Societies and sent settlers to these
areas that were politically attached to the North. They passed
punitive laws against slavery which simply told Southerners they
were not welcome. It was all about control–slavery was a scapegoat.6. NORTHERN INDUSTRIALISTS WANTED THE SOUTH’S RESOURCES. The
Northern Industrialists wanted a war to use as an excuse to get
the South’s resources for pennies on the dollar. They began a
campaign about 1830 that would indoctronate the common people
of the North and create a mental state that would allow them to
go to war against the South. They used slavery as a scapegoat
and brought up the morality claim against the South while conveniently
forgetting that the New England states were responsible primarily
for the importation of slaves from Africa.7. SLANDER OF THE SOUTH BY NORTHERN NEWSPAPERS. This political
cause ties in to the above listed efforts by New England Industrialists.
Beginning about 1830 the Northern Newspapers began to slander
the South. The Industrialists used this tool to indoctrinare the
common people of the North. They used slavery as a scapegoat and
brought the morality claim up to a feverish pitch. Southerners
became tired of reading in the Northern Newspapers about what
bad and evil people they were just because their neighbor down
the road had a few slaves. This propaganda campaign created hostility
between the ordinary citizens of the two regions and created the
animosity necessary for war. The Northern industrialists worked
poor whites in the factories of the North under terrible conditions
for 18 hours a day (including children). When the workers became
old and infirm they were fired. It is a historical fact that during
this era there were thousands of old people living homeless on
the streets in the cities of the North. In the South a slave was
cared for from birth to death. Also the diet and living conditions
of Southern slaves was superior to that of most Northern factory
workers. Southerners deeply resented this New England hypocrisy
and slander.8. NEW ENGLANDERS ATTEMPTED TO INSTIGATE MASSIVE SLAVE REBELLIONS
IN THE SOUTH. Abolitionists were a small but vocal and militant
group in New England who demanded instant abolition of slavery
in the South. These fanatics and zealots were calling for massive
slave uprisings that would result in the murder of Southern men,women,
and children. Southerners were aware that such an uprising had
occurred in Santa Domingo in the 1830 era. They published a terrorist
manifesto (The Helper Book) and tried to smuggle 100,000 copies
into the South showing slaves how to murder their masters at night.
Then when John Brown raided Harpers Ferry,Virginia in 1859, the
political situation became inflammatory. Lincoln and most of the
Republican Party ( 64 members of congress ) had adopted a political
platform in support of terrorist acts against the South. Some
(allegedly including Lincoln) had contributed monetarily as supporters
of John Brown’s terrorist activities. Again slavery was used as
a scapegoat for all differences that existed between the North
and South.9. SLAVERY. Indirectly slavery was a cause of the war. Most Southerners
did not own slaves and would not have fought directly to preserve
or defend slavery. However they believed that the North had no
Constitutional right to free slaves held by citizens of Sovereign
Southern States. Prior to the war there were five times as many
abolition societies in the South as in the North. Virtually all
educated Southerners were in favor of gradual emancipation of
slaves. Gradual emancipation would have allowed the economy and
labor system of the South to gradually adjust to a free paid labor
system without economic collapse. Furthermore, since the New England
States were responsible for the development of slavery in America,
Southerners saw the morality claims by the North as blatant hypocrisy.
The first state to legalize slavery by statute had been Massachusetts
in 1641 and this law was directed primarily at Indians. In colonial
times the economic infrastructure of the port cities of the North
was dependent upon the slave trade. Further proof that Southerners
were not fighting to preserve slavery is found in the diary of
an officer in the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. He stated
that "he had never met a man in the Army of Northern Virginia
that claimed he was fighting to preserve slavery". If the
war had been over slavery,the composition of the politicians,officers,enlisted
men,and even African Americans would have been different. Confederate
General Robert E. Lee had freed his slaves prior to the war whereas
Union General Grant’s wife Julia did not free their slaves until
after the war when forced to do so by the 13th amendment to the
constitution and court action. Grant even stated that if the abolitionists
claimed he was fighting to free slaves that he would offer his
services to the South. Mildred Lewis Rutherford ( 1852-1928 )
was for many years the historian for the United Daughters Of The
Confederacy (UDC). In her book Truths Of History she stated that
there were more slaveholders in the Union Army (315,000) than
the Confederate Army (200,000). Statistics also show that about
300,000 blacks supported the Confederacy versus about 200,000
for the Union. It is estimated that about 93,000 were employed
or served in an official capacity. Approximately 13,000 of the
black Confederate’s were combat veterans. Clearly,the war would
have been fought along different lines if it had been fought over
slavery.10. NORTHERN AGGRESSION AGAINST SOUTHERN STATES. Proof that Abraham
Lincoln wanted war may be found in the manner he handled the Fort
Sumter incident. Original correspondence between Lincoln and Naval
Captain G.V.Fox show proof that Lincoln acted with deceit and
willfully provoked South Carolina into firing on the fort ( A
TARIFF COLLECTION FACILITY ). It was politically important that
the South be provoked into firing the first shot so that Lincoln
could claim the Confederacy started the war. Additional proof
that Lincoln wanted war is the fact that Lincoln refused to meet
with a Confederate peace delegation. They remained in Washington
for 30 days after the Fort Sumter incident and returned to Richmond
only after it became apparent that Lincoln wanted war and refused
to meet and discuss a peace settlement. Then Lincoln called for
75,000 troops to put down what he called a rebellion. He intended
to march Union troops across Virginia and North Carolina to attack
South Carolina. Virginia and North Carolina were not going to
allow such an act of aggression against a sister Southern State
so Lincoln’s aggression caused the secession of the upper Southern
States.The WAR BETWEEN THE STATES 1861-1865 occurred due to many complex
causes and factors as enumerated and summarized above. Those who
make claims that "the war was over slavery" or that
if slavery had been abolished in 1776 when the Declaration of
Independence was signed or in 1789 when The Constitution of the
United States of America was signed, that war would not have occurred
between North and South are being very simplistic in their views
and opinions.The Union victory in 1865 destroyed the right of secession in
America,which had been so cherished by America’s founding fathers
as the principle of their revolution. British historian and political
philosopher Lord Acton, one of the most intellectual figures in
Victorian England, understood the deeper meaning of Southern defeat.
In a letter to former Confederate General Robert E. Lee dated
November 4,1866,Lord Acton wrote " I saw in States Rights
the only available check upon the absolutism of the sovereign
will, and secession filled me with hope, not as the destruction
but as the redemption of Democracy. I deemed you were fighting
the battles of our liberty,our progress, and our civilization
and I mourn for that which was lost at Richmond more deeply than
I rejoice over that which was saved at Waterloo (defeat of Napoleon)".
As Illinois Governor Richard Yates stated in a message to his
state assembly on January 2,1865, "the war had tended, more
than any other event in the history of the country, to militate
against the Jeffersonian Ideal (President Thomas Jefferson) that
the best government is that which governs least".