What caused the Civil War?

Before getting into any specific details, the precipitating causes of the American Civil War were (1) John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry and (2), the election of Abraham Lincoln. The first reason was not very deep at all. John Brown was a man who was feared and hated in the South. He hated slavery and was committed to doing all he could to end it. He settled in Kansas and was involved in some of the violence …

…can secede and lead their own government. First to do this is South Carolina with the Nullification of 1823. The South didn't want any intrusion by the government or the North. There were also obvious economic differences between the two. The North was focused on industry and cities, whereas agriculture and farms were important in the South. These very important events and the underlying causes of slavery and states' rights brought about the inevitable Civil War.