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The causes of the American Civil war are many and occurred over many years. However we can break the main causes into 5 things that worked together to finally cause the southern States to secede from the United States Union. These were the Economic and Social differences, the battle between State and Federal control, the Fight between Slave and non-Slave State proponents, growth of the Abolition movement and the election of Abraham Lincoln. Economic and social differences were caused firstly by the invention of the Cotton Gin. It increased the production of cotton as it made less work of dividing the cotton from the seeds. This then increased the plantation owners profits, caused more cotton plantations and therefore increased the demand for slaves. This lead to a one crop agricultural economy. The North on the other hand was using industry to make profit and using the southern cotton in there mills. The South however, was not selling all or buying all its manufactured goods from the north but purchased imported goods from Europe. The north was not happy and tensions began divide the two. These two factors lead to two different lifestyles and differences in economics, cultures and values. This difference of “economic attitudes” caused by the cotton gin and the South’s purchasing, caused conflict between the new North and the “antiquated” South. The battle between Federal and State control had been causing fiction since the revolution. Many believed that State should have the most power, others thought this created a “weak Federal government”. States in the South begun to become upset when the constitution was changed to give strength to the federal government, which they saw as “unconstitutional”. They also thought that the federal government was bias to the north. For example tariffs were placed on southern goods and goods imported by the south, to prevent them trading with Europe as it made their exported cotton and imports expensive. Whereas in the north similar goods were not taxed. The shift of power from the State to the Federal government caused a concentration of power in the north making the South unhappy. As the Union began to grow the decision to make new states free or slave states created, at times violent confrontations between the two groups. Though attempts were made to solve this through the Missouri comprise of 1820 and 1850 by drawing a line across the “states from the former Louisiana Purchase the latitude 36 degrees 30 minutes north except in Missouri”, problems occurred as the USA moved westward into Kansas, and New Mexico. As proponents of slavery moved into Kansas from Missouri politicians began to fight. These conflicts added to the pressures being built up from the other causes that lead to the outbreak of war. In the early to mid 1800s the abolitionist movement in the north was growing. This caused a “polarization” of those in the north toward slavery. Helping in this was the book Uncle Toms Cabin, which made more people aware of the lives and risks fugitive slaves took seeking freedom. People were also not happy with the Fugitive Slave act which meant people helping escaped slaves could be prosecuted even in free states. This change in social attitudes in the north towards abolitionist created ever more tension between the north and south, while also beginning to have a political impact on the country. The final cause and perhaps the trigger event for the Civil War was the election of Abraham Lincoln. The fact that the north was an industrial economy meant there was more opportunity for people in the north as opposed to the south where wealthy landlords held most of the wealth. More people moved to the north giving them more influence in the Federal government. When the northern candidate Abraham Lincoln was elected in 1860 North Carolina issued its "Declaration of the Causes of Secession.” They felt he was antislavery because of his view that all new states should be free states, and that he was pro north. Seven others followed. The federal government saw this as treason and a rebellion against the Union. On the 12th of April 1861 the Confederate army attacked Fort Sumter in South Carolina. Though it is true that slavery and the attitudes towards it were a reason for the Civil War in the USA a number of other factors caused the division between the north and the south. Key to this was the influence of the Federal government over State. As the North began to move away from the South in its economy and social values their dominance of the democratic process allowed them to pass laws that the South saw as unfair or bias. This increased the tension built from the abolitionist movement and the differences in opinion as to what new states should be free or slave states. When Abraham Lincoln was elected, believing all new states should be deemed free the South felt they had no other option but to secede from the Union. This then lead directly to the beginning of the American Civil war.