Is my essay on the civil war good?

8th grade history, topic : why did the civil war ever happen

make any corrections you want



The Civil War was a period of time from 1861-1865 when The United States of America were not so united. Differences between the North and South led eleven Southern states to succeed from the Union and start their own nation, The Confederate States of America.

What would cause a nation as great as the United States to tear in half and start a war? The fighting raged between two seemingly distinct countries. It pitted former fellow Americans against each other, destroying many young lives and leaving large tracts of destruction on the very land that used to be known as the United States of America.

In 1793, when Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin, cotton became very profitable and the southern economy turned into a one crop economy. Plantations depended on cheap labor to make a profit and therefore the amount of slave labor increased. The northern economy on the other hand though, was based more on industry than agriculture. These two economies were extremely different and would eventually cause a huge dispute.

With the agricultural southern economy and the industrial northern economy the ways of life were different. The North was more of a city life and attracted a lot more people than the South. The South depended on slavery to thrive and make a profit. Slavery actually helped produce about a third of the regions wealth, made up little over half of the labor force, and was a deep part of the social structure. While the South wished to maintain and even expand slavery into the new Western territory the North saw no need for the oppression of African Americans and ultimately wanted to abolish the practice of slavery. If slavery were illegal then the southern economy would fail but wouldn鈥檛 affect the Northern regions at all. The South couldn鈥檛 understand the North鈥檚 viewpoint and the North couldn鈥檛 understand the South鈥檚 viewpoint because of their different life styles and economies and therefore they couldn鈥檛 compromise on the issue.

Not only were the economies different, but people鈥檚 opinions about states鈥?rights versus federal rights differed. Southern states believed that the US Constitution ignored the rights of states to continue to act independently and they didn鈥檛 like the idea of not having the right to decide if they were willing to accept certain federal acts. Northern states though argued that the federal government should have more control over the states.

The election of President Abraham Lincoln was also a huge cause of the Civil War. Many Southern states believed that Lincoln was anti-slavery and in favor of Northern interests. This drove seven states to succeed from the Union before Lincoln was ever even elected.

The Confederate States of America fought the Civil War to protect their states rights but mostly to maintain slavery. The Union fought the Civil War because they wanted an end to slavery but also because many people believed that the Southern states didn鈥檛 have the right o succeed and because President Lincoln鈥檚 main goal was to preserve the Union, he felt it was his duty, based on the oath of office he took, to defend this nation and preserve the ConstitutionIs my essay on the civil war good?
That's REALLY good for eight grade, seriously!

A or even a A+! :D
Seems good, Id give you an A, only 1 page though?Is my essay on the civil war good?
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In the second paragraph change it to:The fighting raged between two seemingly distinct countries. It pitted former fellow Americans against each other, destroying many young lives and leaving large tracts of destruction on the very land that used to be known as the United States of America.What would cause a nation as great as the United States to tear in half and start a war?



Stating a question at the end hooks the reader and then you give your explanation.