The Reason the Civil War Started.

If anyone has not found out, I am currently living in the Deep South. One of the major pieces of history in this part of the world is the Civil War. I am African-American. My ancestors(most of them anyway, I also have some French, Irish, German, and Native American roots as well) were brought to the USA from West Africa as slaves. They had no choice to be here. They were slaves in the plantations of the Deep South. This is also a big part of the Deep South's history. I wanted to touch up on why the Civil War was started. I will try to be as unbiased as I can, but please remember, I will put my own opinion on this in the end.
I am a blogger. I am not an expert on the American Civil War. I merely do the research and draw my own opinions on it. Where do we start?
The United States of America had the institution of slavery entrenched. However, it was most important to the South. The North would eventually phase it out, although it guarantee a Black man's freedom.The economy of the South was primarily based on agriculture. Such crops that were being raised included tobacco, cotton, sugarcane, and well, I don't really have to tell you about the system of slavery. The USA remained divided over the issue of slavery. The Missouri Compromise of 1819 meant that for every slave state let into the Union, a free state would be let in as well. When Alabama became a state, there were 11 slave states and 11 free states. With Missouri entering the Union, the slave states had the majority in the Senate. However, for Missouri, no new slaves would be let into Missouri, and slaves born in Missouri after its admission into the Union would be freed at the age of 25. When Missouri was admitted, Maine, a free state, was admitted to the Union as well. For the South, this resonated fears that the federal government would end the institution of slavery. There were other issues with slavery. There was also the abolitionist movement to free slaves. There was also the Fugitive Slave Law. This meant if a slave escaped from the plantation, being in a free state didn't guarantee freedom. A slave could be captured and returned to the South. The Compromise of 1850 let California into the Union as a free state, but let the Utah and New Mexico territories decide whether or not they wanted slavery.
Early on in the 19th century, there was a system set up to encourage rapid economic growth. This is called The American System. In the American System, there were protective tarrifs, internal improvement(the federal government footed this bill), and a national bank. The main idea was develop international commerce and American industry. This plan was helpful to the North because this is where the iron, coal, and water power was located. The South was an agrarian society, so this wasn't helpful. Many Southerners didn't like this, feeling that the North was being treated better.
It is important to note that in the South, only a small number of people owned slaves. An even smaller number of people owned the majority of slaves in the South. There were still many people who sympathized with slavery and were willing to defend its institution.
Also in the 19th century, there were many who felt that states' rights was an important issue. Many people felt that the federal government was superceding the power of the individual states. The states rights argument was often used when it came to dealing with slavery. The position of many Southerners was this: a person has the right to property and to take that property to another state and not have it taken away.

In 1854, the Republican Party was founded in Ripon,WI, growing out of the anti-slavery movement.
Now onto the 1860's. In 1860, Abraham Lincoln ran as a Republican and won the Presidency. It is important to note that Abraham Lincoln didn't like Black people, nor did he really seek to change things that much. His goal was to keep the Union together. Many Southerners believe that he was an abolitionist and would end the institution of slavery. The slave states were outnumbered and felt threatened. There were things such as the Corwin Amendment. The Corwin Amendment would keep Congress from changing the Constitution in any attempt to "interfere" with "domestic insitutions" issues within a state, including "persons held to labor or service". In short, it would have prevented the Congress from changing the Constitution to abolish slavery. The Crittenden Compromise was also offered. Such provisions of this included the prohibiting the expansion of slavery, and at the same time, prohibiting Congress from abolishing slavery in any way. Both of these compromises failed. Before Lincoln took office in March 1861, seven states declared secession. These states were(in order of secession date): South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas. More states would follow after, such as Virginia, Arkansas,Tennessee, North Carolina, Missouri, and Kentucky. In Kentucky and Missouri, declaration of secession was ineffective because of their pro-Union governments. Fort Sumter in South Carolina was attacked on 12 April 1861. That would be the start of the American Civil War. The Southern states formed their own nation, called the "Confederate States of America". It was not recognized as a nation, but rather, a rebellion. It's "capital" was Richmond, Virginia.

I have also read the Articles of Secession. These are documents on why the southern states wanted to secede. There were "leaders" standing up and openly admitting that they wanted to secede in order to keep and maintain slavery. I have proof right here in this link: http://americancivilwar.com/documents/
Also, the Confederate Constitution was written to allow slavery and made certain provisions for slavery in the Southern states. I have some proof in this link: http://www.civilwarhome.com/csaconstitutionbackground.htm
I can name a part in the Confederate Constitution that allowed slavery: Article 1, section 9, clause 4: "No bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law denying or impairing the right of property in negro slaves shall be passed". This meant that the government couldn't stop you from having slaves.
Article 1, section 9, clause 1:"The importation of negroes of the African race from any foreign country other than the slaveholding States or Territories of the United States of America, is hereby forbidden; and Congress is required to pass such laws as shall effectually prevent the same". Slaves could only be imported from other slaveholding states.
Link:http://www.usconstitution.net/csa.html#A1Sec8

My opinion? The Southern states seceded because they wanted to keep slavery. States rights and tarrifs might have played a part in it, but slavery was the major cause. There were leaders in those days standing up and openly admitting this. Nowadays, many in the southern states don't want to believe this. I personally feel that slavery played this biggest part. My own argument is that slavery was a major part of Southern life at that point in history. It was a major part of the economy. Alot of wealth was held in keeping slaves. Slaves weren't paid. Many people were afraid to lose an economic system that treated human beings(and that is exactly what I see those slaves as, human beings, because that is what they are. God almighty created them as humans in his image, but other people classified them as property) as chattel or some kind of property for economic greed.
As for states' rights, yes, it was states's rights, the right of a state to allow the ownership of slaves. Many didn't want the federal government to get involved because they wanted to keep slavery. That is what I think states' rights was really about.