Who was responsible for the coming of the Civil War? Were strong personalities important? Could the war have been prevented?

The American
Civil War was one of the bloodiest conflicts in national history, with the total number of
casualties estimated at around 620,000 soldiers.  In this war, the northern states (also known
as the Union) faced off against their southern neighbors, who had just recently seceded and
formed the Confederate States of America.  When it comes to placing blame for the genesis of
this war, though, neither the North or the South was fully at fault, for the Civil War arose,
and some scholars would argue its inevitability, due to tensions surrounding the two sides'
vastly differing economies and ideologies.

The northern economy prior to the
Civil War was largely an industrial one, with factories and mills in cities such as Boston, New
York, and Philadelphia.  This was due in part to the greater availability of natural resources
(i.e. coal) within the region.  Additionally, the mileage of railroad track in the North was far
greater than that of the South, enabling faster shipment of...

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