Many historians debate the causes of the Civil war. Yet the overwhelming economic differences between the northern and southern states on the eve of the civil war contributed significantly to the growing tensions. The industrial-reliable north had a high support for the implementation of tariffs and objected the use of slave labor, while the agricultural-reliable south strongly opposed tariffs and promoted slavery.

The North was very reliable on manufacturing and technological innovation. Environmental conditions in the north did not open opportunity for large plantations, and therefore much of the economy was based on textiles, lumber and fur trade. This reliability on industry put a high demand on tariffs, which would protect the manufactured goods from cheap foreign policies. Although labor was greatly needed, encouragement of immigration caused the northern labor force to be well numbered, since most Europeans worked in the factories and on the railroads in the...