One reason the civil war occurred was because of slavery. The south was afraid the north would forbid slavery altogether so they had war. The north didn't want slavery because they thought it was embarrassing to say America is a free country even though they had slaves. The war also began because the south demanded state rights and they were not getting it. The congress favored the north and demanded the south to sell its cotton and other materials only to the factories in the north rather to other countries. Then the congress taxed the finished materials that the north produced high making the products that the south needed expensive. The south states wanted to be their own country but the north wanted to be a federal government rule. (http://classic.worldbookonline.com/advanced/article?id=ar117060&st=civil+war)