Cause of the American Civil War

“The American Civil War was over slavery!”  “No, it was over states’ rights!”  Back and forth the two sides go, on and on.  The American Civil war was actually over both issues.  To help explain how this can be, I will use an analogy I once heard used by Dr. R.C. Sproul in his explanation for the cause of the Protestant Reformation.  

“Frequently the Reformation is described as a movement that revolved around two pivotal issues.  The socalled ‘material’ cause was the debate over sola fide (“justification by faith alone”).  The ‘formal’ cause was the issue of sola Scriptura, that the Bible and the Bible alone has the authority to bind the conscience of the believer.”

The formal cause of the Civil War was over the issue of secession.  The United States (U.S.) did not invade the Confederate States (C.S) because the latter was pro-slavery.  The U.S. invaded the C.S. because the latter had seceded from the former’s union.  Some may interject here that the C.S. started the war when it attacked U.S. property, e.g. Fort Sumter, that fell within the new borders of the C.S.  This is a mute point as the mere act of secession already made claim to such property. (The picture to the right shows Fort Sumter flying a Confederate Flag in 1861.)

The material cause of the Civil War was over the issue of slavery.  The material cause of an issue is easier to discern when one asks the question, “Why was the formal cause an issue to begin with?”  In the Protestant Reformation, the formal issue (is a believer’s conscience bound by the Bible alone or by both the Bible and Church dogma) was only an issue because of the material cause (is a believer justified by their faith alone or by their faith and their works).  Those that believed one is justified by faith alone did so on the grounds that they believed one’s conscience is bound by the Bible alone.  In like manner, the formal cause of the Civil War (secession) was only an issue because of the material cause (slavery).

Take the American Revolutionary War (ARW) as another example.  The formal cause of the ARW was also the issue of secession.  Great Britain did not invade the British-American colonies because the latter refused to pay taxes, i.e. “no taxation without representation”. Great Britain invaded the British-American colonies because the latter rejected the former’s union.  This formal cause (secession), however, was only an issue because of the material cause (refusal to pay taxes), taxes which were levied, mind you, to pay a down the debt incurred when Great Britain defended the British-American colonists from French aggression during the Seven Years’ War.  In addition to these taxes, the colonists’ infamous smuggling practices were also finally put to a stop in order to drive goods away from the black market where it could be properly taxed.  Interesting how when a people’s money is put at risk, whether it be stopping slavery, smuggling, or tax evasion, those people have a tendency to rebel.  But perhaps that is a topic for another blog.