American civil war

[druiaghtagh]

What were the reasons behind why this happened please?

[mycatis]

At the root of all of the problems was the institution of slavery, which had been introduced into North America in early colonial times. The American Revolution had been fought to validate the idea that all men were created equal, yet slavery was legal in all of the thirteen colonies throughout the revolutionary period. Although it was largely gone from the northern states by 1787, it was still enshrined in the new Constitution of the United States, not only at the behest of the Southern ones, but also with the approval of many of the Northern delegates who saw that there was still much money to be made in the slave trade by the Yankee shipping industry. Eventually its existence came to color every aspect of American life. At the root of all of the problems was the institution of slavery, which had been introduced into North America in early colonial times. The American Revolution had been fought to validate the idea that all men were created equal, yet slavery was legal in all of the thirteen colonies throughout the revolutionary period. Although it was largely gone from the northern states by 1787, it was still enshrined in the new Constitution of the United States, not only at the behest of the Southern ones, but also with the approval of many of the Northern delegates who saw that there was still much money to be made in the slave trade by the Yankee shipping industry. Eventually its existence came to color every aspect of American life.  Try here  http://members.tripod.com/~greatamericanhistory/gr02013.htm

[dothawkes]

mycatis is right, and I agree though from a purely business angle, I believe the value of the cotton and cheap labour of the slaves was a reason that slaves were not emmancipated earlier and a war avoided, though that isn't a point I can necessarily back up.

[Clanad]

While both previous answers are valid to an extent, a close reading of Lincoln's writings as well as the historical context of the Emancipation Proclamation indicates the primary, driving force behind the War was the preservation of the Union.  Lincoln, quite rightly, saw the oncoming disintegration of the relatively young ("four score and seven years ago...") Republic if it were allowed to fractionalize into regional mini-countries without a strong central, Federal government.  For example, the Emancipation Proclamation, only applied to those southern States which had seceded, not to the slave holding border states.  Additionally, it was not issued until September 22, 1862 and didn't become effective until January 1, 1863, nearly three years after the first secession... It was only later that slavery became the primary issue and some argue that it was never the real driving force behind the conflict...

[BlackRose]

They're right.  Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation disturbed the South and they tried to pull away from the U.S..  The North wouldn't allow and so began the Civil War.(short summary)