The Causes of the Civil War

While South Carolina’s preemptive strike on Fort Sumter and Lincoln’s subsequent call to arms started the Civil War, South Carolina’s secession and Lincoln’s military actions were simply the last in a chain of events stretching as far back as the early 1750s. Increasing moral conflicts and political debates over slavery—exacerbated by the inequities inherent between an established agricultural society and a growing industrial one—led to a fierce sectionalism which manifested itself through cultural, economic, political and territorial disputes. This historical study reduces sectionalism to its most fundamental form, examining the underlying source of this antagonistic climate. From protective tariffs to the expansionist agenda, it illustrates the ways in which the foremost issues of the time influenced relations between the North and the South.

Paul Calore has written on the causes of the Civil War, as well as books about its naval and land campaigns. He is a supporting member of the Civil War Preservation Trust, and lives in Seekonk, Massachusetts.

Paul Calore
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 308
Bibliographic Info: 7 photos, 2 maps, chronology, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2008
pISBN: 978-0-7864-3304-9
eISBN: 978-0-7864-8234-4
Imprint: McFarland

Preface      1

1. Slavery and Its Impact on Sectionalism (1619 to 1830)      5

2. The Rise and Fall of Abolitionism (1750 to 1848)      20

3. Economic Protectionism (1815 to 1828)      31

4. “Old Hickory” Comes to Washington (1829 to 1832)      53

5. The Bank War and Southern Nullification (1832 to 1834)      76

6. The Turbulent Years (1834 to 1836)      93

7. The Panic and Sub-Treasuries (1837 to 1840)      106

8. John Tyler and Texas Too (1840 to 1845)      116

9. The Expansionist Agenda (1845 to 1846)      135

10. Territorial Sectionalism (1846 to 1847)      153

11. A Time to Compromise (1847 to 1850)      166

12. Sectional Politics (1850 to 1853)      185

13. Filibusters (1849 to 1860)      199

14. The Kansas-Nebraska Act (1852 to 1854)      207

15. Political Realignment (1854 to 1856)      220

16. The Fight for Kansas (1854 to 1858)      231

17. From Brown to Lincoln (1856 to 1860)      248

18. The End of the Road (1860 to 1861)      265

Chronology      283

Bibliography      291

Index      293