“Economic differences between the North and South were the most important factor in causing the Civil War.” To what extent do you agree with this statement?

The question requires that candidates consider the merits or otherwise of the statement that economic differences between the North and South were the most important factor in causing the Civil War. Causes may predate the timeframe but they must be clearly linked to the issue raised in the question. Candidates may refer to the tariff issue as emblematic of North–South economic differences, the largely agrarian nature of the Southern economy in contrast to emerging Northern industrialization, the competition for territorial expansion between slave-labour interests of the South versus Northern interests in wage-labour and the emergence of the Republican party that represented the economic interests of the North and West only. Other relevant factors may be addressed; for example the assertion that states’ rights, slavery and the struggle for political dominance were major causes of war, but with a focus on the issue in the question. Candidates’ opinions or conclusions will be presented clearly and supported by appropriate evidence.

The question required that candidates consider the merits or otherwise of the statement that economic differences between the North and South were the most important factor in causing the Civil War. This was a very popular choice and produced a wide range of quality in the responses. Unfortunately, many were mediocre at best due to the tendency to only describe the economic qualities of Northern and Southern society with little or no attempt to directly connect this description to the events of the 1840s and 1850s that led to war. There were a good number that made the connection with clarity and evidence as to the economic factors contributing to war before developing additional theories as to the importance of sectionalism, states' rights, social differences and slavery.