What were the political causes of the American Civil War? What differences led to the War Between the States? And what lessons can we take from the war?

The American Civil War remains the costliest conflict in American history, claiming the lives of over 600,000 Americans - and absolutely devastating the entire nation. What were the causes leading to the crisis of the American Civil War -- specifically, the political causes? And could the Civil War have been avoided?

Much has been made of the issue of slavery as the leading cause of the Civil War. Certainly, slavery was the trigger that caused the secession of the Deep South, but the war itself was fought over a significant, political difference, That difference came down to the following question: Do the states retain their "sovereignty" and thus their right to withdraw voluntarily from the U.S. Constitution?

State "Sovereignty" in the Founding Era

The seeds for the standoff over sovereignty were planted during the American Revolution, when the Second Continental Congress unanimously declared the thirteen colonies to be "free and independent states" and clumsily forged a confederation that guaranteed sovereignty to the states, while trying to bind them into a "firm league of friendship."

From the founding era, there was a fundamental disagreement over how much authority the national government should have on the one hand and how much sovereignty and independence the individual states should retain on the other.

What followed was a clumsy and unworkable arrangement whereby the states tried to coordinate a national war effort, a national economy, and a national government without sacrificing their individual sovereignty.

The Failure of the Articles of Confederation

The Continental Congress operated with a heavy deference to the states during the American Revolution, ultimately approving the Articles of Confederation in 1781. The result was disastrous for the Continental Army, which suffered constantly with low (if any) pay, insufficient provisions, disease, and starvation. Several times, General George Washington had to cope with unrest and uprisings in his own army, all the while trying to prosecute a war for independence against the British. Washington would not forget the pitiful impotence of the national Congress under the Articles of Confederation, and would be among those calling for a stronger central government in the years following the American Revolution.

What's more, the American economy under the Articles of Confederation was....well....not really an "economy" at all. Continental currency was worthless. States were free to do their own thing. Foreign nations, particularly Great Britain, preyed on post-war America with ruthless trade practices. Debt was rampant, and non-agricultural industry was practically nonexistent outside of the major cities of the North.

With Shays' Rebellion in 1786-87, the men we know now as the Founding Fathers had enough. Many of them gathered in Philadelphia in the summer of 1787 to strengthen the Articles of Confederation. Thanks to the leadership of James Madison and Alexander Hamilton, they realized that the Articles of Confederation were hopelessly inadequate - and scrapped them.

The Constitution of the United States

Their resulting handiwork, the Constitution of the United States, strengthened the national government - and made the Union of the states more "perfect" (or complete). The new Constitution explicitly declared its supremacy to the states, as stated in Article VI:

This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.

What's more, Article I, Section 10 of the same Constitution forbids the states from entering into treaties or alliances, coining money, raising armies, and much more. The clear message was that the federal government was supreme, provided it remained within its constitutional parameters.

This message was not lost on states' rights advocates, such as Patrick Henry, who rose in opposition to the Constitution. But they were defeated. In many ways, the states' rights philosophy underlying the Confederacy was a continuation of the defeated Anti-Federalists.

Secession and the Civil War

The U.S. Constitution clearly established the supremacy of the national government over the states, provided it remained within constitutional parameters. So, why did the Civil War take place?

Upon the election of Abraham Lincoln as President in 1860, South Carolina triggered a wave of secession by declaring its intent to leave the Union. South Carolina and the other states of the Deep South justified secession on the arguments that:

• the northern states were uncooperative with the fugitive slave clause of the U.S. Constitution,
• the U.S. government had no right to restrict property rights (and, by that, the South meant slave-owner rights) in the new territories, and
• the growing power of the North in the U.S. government imperiled the interests of the South.

Since the states voluntarily entered into the Constitutional Union in the founding era, the Deep South reasoned they could voluntarily withdraw. Abraham Lincoln disagreed, and moved to stop their secession. The Upper South then joined the Confederate cause, and a bloody war ensued.

Had the South succeeded in its secessionist aims, the strength and credibility of the Constitution would have evaporated, as each state would've retained the power to disregard any federal policy or law it so chose - or could simply walk out of the Union at its whim.

The United States of America exists today, because the Civil War turned out the way it did.