Ben Ruddock 12A The Causes of the American Civil War Some say simplistically that the Civil War was fought over slavery. Unfortunately, there is no "simple" reason. The causes of the war were a complex series of events, including slavery, that began long before the first shot was fired. Some of the reasons that will be detailed in the paper include.. Constitutional issues, tariffs and nullifications, economic changes, the breakdown of the political system, and finally slavery. People argued about the meaning of the Constitution since the beginning. From a legal standpoint, the document is a contract between the people of the United States and the federal government, detailing the powers and responsibilities of each. In 1828 Vice-president John C. Calhoun said that if a state felt a federal law extended beyond the Constitutional rights of the government that state had the right nullify the law. This concept dated back to the Articles of Confederation. President Andrew Jackson felt the federal government was the highest authority and
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