Abstract
The challenge of explaining the Civil War has led historians to seek clarity in two ways of thought. One school, the fundamentalists, emphasizes the intrinsic, inevitable conflict between slavery and free labor. The other, the revisionists, emphasizes discrete events and political structures rather than slavery itself. Both sides see crucial parts of the problem, but it has proved difficult to reconcile the perspectives because they approach the Civil War with different assumptions about what drives history.
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2005
Publisher Statement
Copyright © 2005 North & South, Inc. This article first appeared in North & South: The Official Magazine of the Civil War Society 8:5 (2005), 12-18.
Please note that downloads of the article are for private/personal use only.
Recommended Citation
Ayers, Edward L. "What Caused the Civil War?" North & South: The Official Magazine of the Civil War Society, 8:5 (2005): 12-18.