The fight over slavery was the chief cause of the Civil War. Most of the problems leading up to the war had something to do with slavery. The North was opposed to slavery, while the South thrived from it. Because of their differing views, there was much aggression between the two. It was only a matter of time before war broke out. .
Before the Civil War, the North and South had developed into two very different regions. The South was an agricultural region whose main crop was cotton. King Cotton, as it was known, had become very profitable, and the South depended on the plantation system's use of slave labor to meet the demand for cotton. The North was an industrial region, based on trade and factories. Labor was needed to run the factories, but immigrants, not slaves, provided the work. The different economic needs between the two regions caused hostility.
The plantation system used by the South to support its economy was brutal and degrading. Slaves were used to provide the labor, and they were treated horrifically. Deprived of their human rights, they were considered property, not people. Slaves had to suffer appalling conditions, living in unsanitary and unlivable quarters where disease was not uncommon. On top of that, they were forced to carry out exhausting manual labor, during which they were often beaten.
Opposition to this system came slowly, but people eventually began to speak out against slavery. One abolitionist, William Lloyd Garrison, published The Liberator, an anti-slavery newspaper. Other abolitionists showed their opposition to slavery by helping fugitive slaves escape to Canada in a system called the Underground Railroad. Some of them helped lead runaways out of the South. Others helped by providing shelter. .
Slaves also showed opposition to slavery. The most common way to resist was escaping, but there were other ways to show resistance. Some of them revolted.
