The American Civil War was a military conflict between the United States of America (the Union), and 11 secessionist Southern states, organized as the Confederate States of America (the Confederacy). It was the culmination of four decades of intense sectional conflict and it reflected deep-seated economic, social, and political differences between the North and the South. One of the major causes of the Civil War was the seemingly endless political disputes over slavery in the Mexican …showed first 75 words of 1618 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1618 total…hostile feelings produced by mixed reactions to fugitive slaves and the means of catching or protecting them, and the Panic of 1857, which also led to bellicose sentiments and actions over the uses of public land. Besides these, there were secondary reasons, as well, numerous and piled-up from decades of conflicting interests. All of these contributed in producing, measured in physical devastation and human lives, the most costly war in the experience of the American people.