The US Civil War lasted from 1861 to 1865 and led to over 618,000 casualties. Its causes can be traced back to tensions that formed early in the nation's history. The following are the top five causes that led to the "War Between the States."

Key Vocabulary Eli Whitney cotton gin Industrial Revolution Articles of Confederation Constitutional Convention US Constitution nullify secession

1. Economic and social differences between the North and the South. With Eli Whitney's invention of the cotton gin in 1793, cotton became very profitable. This machine was able to reduce the time it took to separate seeds from the cotton. However, at the same time the increase in the number of plantations willing to move from other crops to cotton meant the greater need for a large amount of cheap labor, i.e. slaves. Thus, the southern economy became a one crop economy, depending on cotton and therefore on slavery. On the other hand, the northern economy was based more on industry than agriculture. In fact, the northern industries were purchasing the raw cotton and turning it into finished goods. This disparity between the two set up a major difference in economic attitudes. The South was based on the plantation system while the North was focused on city life. This change in the North meant that society evolved as people of different cultures and classes had to work together. On the other hand, the South continued to hold onto an antiquated social order.

The cotton gin is a machine designed to remove cotton from its seeds. The process uses a small screen and pulling hooks to force the cotton through the screen. It was invented by Eli Whitney on March 14, 1794, one of the many inventions that occurred during the American Industrial Revolution. However, earlier versions of the cotton gin had existed since the first century. It was improved over time from a single roller design to a double roller machine.

Copy the following questions in your social studies notebook and provide a complete answer. 1. Economics difference was one of the factors that led to the start of the civil war. Describe how southern states and northern states were differed economically. 2. What is a cotton gin? 3. What social difference did the invention of the cotton gin help create between the north and south?

2. States rights versus federal rights. Since the time of the American Revolution, two groups emerged: those arguing for greater states rights and those arguing that the federal government needed to have more control. The first organized government in the US after the American Revolution was under the Articles of Confederation. The thirteen states formed a loose confederation with a very weak federal government. However, when problems arose, the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation caused the leaders of the time to come together in a secret meeting at the Constitutional Convention.Articles of ConfederationConstitutional Convention People like Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry, who were strong believers in states having their own right, were not invited to be present at this meeting.

The Continental Congress wrote the Articles of Confederation during the American Revolutionary War. The articles were written to give the colonies a joined government. Once the thirteen colonies became the thirteen states, however, each state began to act alone in its own best interest. A new governing document was needed in order for these new states to act together, to become a nation. The Articles of Confederation became effective on March 1, 1781, after all thirteen states had approved and agreed on it. The Articles gave the states and government a lot of power. However, there was no executive branch (a group totally responsible for making rules and policies). In addition, the Judicial functions (Legal system and Laws) were very limited. Therefore, the resulting government was weak. Efforts to make it stronger failed. A convention called in May 1787 to re-write the Articles decided to draft an entirely new Constitution. Articles of Federation

Many felt that the new Constitution ignored the rights of states to continue to act independently. They felt that the states should still have the right to decide if they were willing to accept certain federal acts. This resulted in the idea of nullification, whereby the states would have the right to rule federal acts unconstitutional. The federal government denied states this right. However, proponents such as John C. Calhoun fought strongly for nullification. When nullification would not work and states felt that they were no longer respected, they moved towards secession.nullificationsecession John C. Calhoun The Great Nullifier

4. What was a major problem within the government after the American Revolution? 5. What was the name of the first document created to help govern the 13 states? 7. Why were people like Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry not invite to help re-write the articles? 6. Why did the first document created to govern the new 13 states not work? Copy the following questions in your social studies notebook and provide a complete answer. 8. What does nullification mean? 9. Who was John C. Calhoun and what was he known for? 10. When nullification would not work and states felt that they were no longer respected, they moved towards secession. What does secession mean? Using internet resources, create a chronological list of the 11 states that seceded from the United States.