Reflecting on the Civil War

The South, which was known as the Confederate States of America, seceded from the North, which was also known as the Union, for many different reasons. The reason they wanted to succeed was because there was four decades of great sectional conflict between the two. Between the North and South there were deep economic, social, and political differences. The South wanted to become an independent nation. There were many reasons why the South wanted to …

…also. The northern Whigs joined antislavery Democrats to form the Republican party in 1854. A conflict developed in Kansas between proslavery settlers from Missouri and antislavery newcomers who began to move into the territory from the northeastern states. This was what known as "Bleeding Kansas." There were also many people in the North known as abolitionists who made the South look very bad. The abolitionists played a major role in shaping the views of many Northerners.