USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Southerners consistently argued for states rights and a weak federal government but it was not until the 1850s that they raised the issue of secession.

Detailed explanation-2: -Many maintain that the primary cause of the war was the Southern states’ desire to preserve the institution of slavery. Others minimize slavery and point to other factors, such as taxation or the principle of States’ Rights.

Detailed explanation-3: -Southern states were concerned that the Republican government would attempt to abolish slavery. The abolition of slavery would devastate the Southern economy and made Southern states fearful that their states’ rights would be violated. The first state to secede from the Union was South Carolina.

Detailed explanation-4: -In the North, people wanted a stronger national government that would make the same laws for all the states. Slavery-Most of the Southern states had economies based on farming and felt they needed enslaved labor to help them farm. The North was more industrialized and much of the North had made slavery illegal.