What+Caused+the+Civil+War

What Caused the Civil War?

There were many precursors to the American Civil War: The secession of the deep southern states, __Uncle Tom's Cabin__, Kansas Nebraska Act and The Dred Scott decision. However, the main origin of the Civil War lays with the fighting at Fort Sumter. All other matters could have been settled diplomatically with give and take on both sides but when brother began to fight brother at Fort Sumter that had to be answered by the Union and this left no going back for the South. Tension had been brewing between the northern and southern states for decades and many people predicted a Civil War was on the horizon by the time the south began to secede. President Buchanan was letting the states go and had even said "The South has no right to secede, but I have no power to prevent them." The secession issue could have perhaps been settled diplomatically with a series of compromises and a lot of give and take sort of politics. The Union could have taken the know-nothing stance and allowed slavery but had nothing to do with it or they could have re-instated the 36,30 line. However, when the Confederacy attacked Fort Sumter the Union could not just go quietly into the night. President Lincoln had to fight back to maintain the Union.