The American Civil War was fueled by aggressive actions from the South’s states, not the North. The US Constitution provided for each country’s independence and their voluntary unification into a nation, the Confederation took many actions to start an armed conflict. Attitudes towards slavery and the immediate outbreak of war in an armed conflict can be ranked as acts of aggression from the South.
People’s opinions on slavery varied greatly between the North and the South. While the former relied on the Enlightenment idea, advocated for equal rights for all citizens of the country, the latter, for the most part, proclaimed ideas that presupposed the dominance of one race over another. Inhuman working conditions, the constant expansion of plantation areas, which caused a continuous increase in the number of African-American slaves, was the main reason for the Civil War outbreak (Capek, 2017). It is impossible to calculate the exact number of people who died due to abuse by slave owners. Besides, the first battle of the Civil War was an attack by Confederate forces on Federation territory. The Battle of Fort Sumter (April 1861) is the evidence of aggression from the South (Capek, 2017). The southern states decided to unite into the Confederation due to their reluctance to change the slave system. Having no other way to defend its interests, the South began to undertake acts of aggression against the North to protect itself.
In conclusion, secession was legal, and the Southern states tended to solve slavery by force. The same system of slavery, which implies the absence of minimum rights and freedoms for the individual, coupled with the outbreak of hostilities, became the main factor for waging a full-scale civil war. Without giving up the opportunity to protect their interests, the South was forced to start a war.
Reference
Capek, M. (2017). The battle over slavery: Causes and effects of the U.S. Civil War. Capstone Press.