why southerners went to war?
100861
our country was as divided as it is today about major issues and at the time geography had alot to do with because of the economy (farming without slaves etc..)  Where as today even in the red/ blue states there we are still to evenly spread out to divide geographically
615246
The South had been launching an offensive into Northern territory, with the eventual goal to taking Washington D.C. (Back then, when you took the capital, you could win the war ... a pity it's not like that anymore). At Gettysburg, the Southern Army was defeated and it was forced to push back towards Confederate territory. It began the process by which the North began hammering the South into submission in the war.
22917
The union blockaded the south to prevent them from obtaining supplies to carry on the war.  The south had virtually no factories, they were almost all up north.  The blockade strategy was very successful because by wars end the south was unable to not only feed itself but it was unable to arm itself sufficiently to wage war.
1128896
Southern Advantages (Northern Disadvantages)\n\nFighting a Defensive War\n\n    * To stand on the defensive meant that the North had to invade and carry the fight to the South. This allowed the South to prepare and receive the enemy, although Lee was not a passive man by any standards. \n\n    * The South did not have many advantages, but just like in the American Revolution, it's very difficult to conquer an area. Essentially the South only had to muster the will to keep fighting until the North felt like quitting. That didn't happen, but theoretically it could have. \n\n    * When Southerners said that they merely wanted to secede from the Union they gave themselves a military advantage. Thus the North had to attack. \n\n    * The geography of the South favored the defender over the attacker. In particular, most of the rivers in the South run east to west. Thus as Union forces attempted to move south they had to cross all the rivers and the Confederates could defend them. Also, the fact that the Cenfederacy was simply defending itself meant that the Northern forces had to invade and occupy virtually the entire South before they could claim victory. That was a monumental task. \n\nFighting Spirit\n\n    * The South had soldiers who were devoutly dedicated to preserving the Southland. \n\n    * The South were the ones who started this war, they want to finish it. They were the ones with a motive. The North just wants to put the country back together. \n\n    * The North included "border" states like Maryland which had large populations of Southern sympathizers. The North constantly had to fight to keep up popular support for the war. \n\n    * Motivation. The South was fighting to preserve their homes from an intruder. The North on the other hand was fighting to preserve the union. To abolish slavery was added later, and this was cold comfort to most Northerners who had never seen a slave before. \n\n    * The Southern population, at least the white population, were more united than that of the North. In the North there was always a substantial political sentiment, based on various reasons, for not fighting the war and letting the South go in peace. \n\n    * The North was the invader. When troops approached the end of their volunteer enlistment, they wanted to go home. The Southern troops were fighting for their style of life, so they hung in there. \n\nFighting on Their Own Soil\n\n    * They were fighting on mostly native territory, thus they were more familiar with the ground. \n\n    * The theater of war was primarily in the South which was its home territory. Obviously the theater of war was well known to the South. The North was in enemy territory and was unfamiliar with the terrain. \n\n    * Since the Southerners were defending their own soil they were intimately familiar with the territory while the Northerners had to rely on maps. \n\nMilitary Leadership\n\n    * The majority of the best leaders were Southern born. When the South left the Union, these soldiers went with their home states. \n\n    * Military leadership of the South consisted of many Mexican War veterans. The North had some experienced officers. However the North's leadership was inferior to the South. \n\n    * Throughout the Civil War, Lincoln was trying to find generals that could win. Many say Grant was the only good general the North had. \n\n    * Lee, Stonewall Jackson, Longstreet, Forest, Stuart, the list could continue. The South was blessed with officers who knew how to fight and make the best of bad situations. \n\n    * A big portion of the Union's finer officers were from the South, and were more loyal to their home states when faced with the choice. Robert E. Lee is of course the most notable example, and would have been the first choice to command the Army of the Potomac if he had remained in the Union army. \n\nMilitary Aptitude\n\n    * The average Southerner had at some point in his life hunted for food. Thi
510063
Economics was the major reason for the Civil War. Slavery really was an economic issue, not a moral one. The southern plantation owners had paid much money for their slaves to work their plantations. If slavery were prohibited, they would have lost the means to survive because they could not have afforded to buy slaves and then later pay workers to run the plantations.\n\nAlso, remember, the North had an industrial economy and the South had an agrarian society. These clashed, and there was a big concern over who was going to control the rich and expansive lands in the West.
653957
Because they thought that they could make a deal with Hitler and they didn't want to fight. Sounds like some people today who were against going into Iraq and Afganistan. History repeats itself.
637173
A group of people living by our modern laws and morality might have been able to avoid the American Civil War.  I'm not sure that the people of the day could have come up with a solution.  The South wanted to secede because what the federal government was doing was going to destroy their economy.  It did, but a successful secession would have destroyed both economies.
634837
During the Civil War.
684196
they wanted to stop the expansion of slavery. this led 2 the confederacy 'cause the south "needed" their slaves. and that led 2 the Civil War. Lincoln did the Emancipation Proclamation to make this war officially about slavery. i have no internet sources about this, i'm just mad sick at history
763952
Well, one difference is that the U.S. Civil war began over the issue of State's rights.  The federal government wanted more control over what went on in the states and the southern states believed that the Federal government should have limited power (as outlined in the U.S. Constitution).  Although it is often thought of as a war over slavery, the real issue was whether or not the Feds could control the states.\n\nThe "civil war"  (not really offcially declared at this point) in Iraq has to do with groups of people who flat out don't like each other and don't want to live with each other.
409372
R.E. Lee wasn't a northerner, he was a Virginian that went with the South when 'his' state seceded.  After the war, he was apart of the union.  I think you're referring to the carpetbaggers, as the one above mentioned.
426718
Would you have stayed in the south if you were a slave?  No.  They were looking for jobs and racial tolerance by going north.
333492
Well that is complex. But to start off before the war. The north and the south differed greatly. The south was a farming area(mostly very labor intensive products like cotton) hence the need for slavery in the south's eyes. Where the north was mostly industrial compared to the south. So more machines and less hand labor. The reason this is important is because a factory can be rebuild. But farm land takes a lot of money to redo and a lot of time to start producing again. Well after the war the South lost its way of life and it lost it way of surviving. After the war the south was pretty well destroyed.  The farms and there crops were gone burned, destroyed, or used by the union forces. Also after the war the south was occupied by northern troops for many years to come. But southern people at the time also believed they were right on the issue of slavery. That is part of the reason the civil war happened. But basically it all of this combined as to why I believe the south is still hung up on the civil war.
359889
The secession of states was when the Southern States decided to leave the union and form The Confederate States of America.  No, they were not inbred blue bloods who wanted to hold onto slavery (slavery was just as rampant in the North - it began there).  The CSA truly believed in the right for states to govern themselves as set forth in the Articles of the Constitution.  This secession led to the War of Northern Aggression (commonly known as the Civil Way), which lasted from April 1861 to April 1864.
202548
North, because they won the civil war, everybody loves a winner.  But then I think of their war of aggression against the south and want to live with them because you have to root for the underdog.  And besides, the South WILL rise again!  I am all ready for the victory dance.
372052
That's a huge question.  You should do some research on causes of the Civil War - there are plenty of children's, students', and young adult books concerning the topic.\n\nTrying to be brief here... The Lincoln/Northern view was that the United States is a union first and a confederation second - in other words, once you're in the Union, you can't back out, otherwise the very strength of the Union, of the United States, is undermined.  If Lincoln had just said, "Oh, heck with it!  Good luck to you Southern states!", it would have made it difficult if not impossible to keep any other state from seceding for any reason whatsoever.  Lincoln and the North pressed the war in order to preserve the Union and establish the supremacy of nationhood over statehood.\n\nBesides, historians and economists in years since have speculated that, in time, the South and North would probably have reunited in some way anyway, as both regions would have had a mutual interest.
486806
I believe it was due to the strong iron production in the area...to produce weapons. But contact the Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond, VA to for your best answers.