The main cause of the American Civil War is the intensification of the conflict of interests between the North and the South. After the independence of the United States, especially in the process of territorial expansion, the northern industrial and commercial capitalism and the southern plantation economy developed rapidly along different economic paths. However, the contradiction between North and South is becoming more and more acute. The contradiction between the two sides is mainly manifested in the struggle for the newly expanded land in the west and the abolition of slavery.

In addition to economic reasons, the two sides competed for western land because they wanted to increase their seats in Congress, thus affecting the federal government's policies. At the same time, slave owners in the south used slavery to occupy a large number of labor, while the development of capitalist economy in the north needed a large number of cheap "free" hired labor.

By the middle of the19th century, the contradiction between the north and the south focused on the preservation or abolition of slavery, which intensified and led to the American Civil War. The American Civil War was the second bourgeois revolution in American history. It abolished black slavery, cleared the way for the further development of capitalism, and made the American economy catch up with and surpass capitalist countries such as Britain and France in the second half of the19th century.

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The meaning of civil war:

The civil war destroyed slavery and was the second bourgeois revolution in American history, but it solved the problem of farmers' land well, safeguarded national unity, cleared the way for the accelerated development of American capitalism and laid the foundation for the United States to rank among the world powers.

During the civil war, the industrial revolution brought great military progress. The two sides used metal shells and heavy rifles to fight, used railways and steam boats to realize rapid maneuvering and assembly of troops, and used steam armored warships to conduct naval battles. Mechanical rifles were put into actual combat for the first time, especially the production mode of manufacturing standardized parts and assembling weapons was developed in the north, which greatly improved the industrial production efficiency and promoted the progress of American history.

The civil war was the first large-scale war after the industrial revolution, during which the standards of modern warfare such as tactics, strategic thinking and battlefield medical care were established. Most of the 3.5 million people who took part in the war were volunteers. The war killed 750,000 soldiers and disabled 400,000 soldiers. Relevant associations estimate that the death toll may be higher, and the number of civilians affected is unknown.

The civil war left a deep impression on Europa observers at that time. Karl Marx said that the civil war was a unique great war in military history. This civil war is of great, historic, progressive and revolutionary significance.

Baidu Encyclopedia-Civil War