上海交通大学通识核心课程“历史视野下的美国文化”结业论文 On the Causes of American Civil War 关于美国内战的原因的探讨 张琪（电院计算机系，大四） Abstract:America Civil War is considered as the most deadly war of American history.There are many causes leading to it.This paper tries to focus on one or two basic point based on a simple hypothesis,that is man are selfish which leads to a selfish party consisting of those man.I will try to analysis how the war is caused by the very human nature of selfishness 摘要：美国内战是美国历史上伤亡最为惨重的战争之一。内战的原因多种多样，本文从 人性自私以及由自私人组成的党也自私的简单假设出发，主要集中讨论一两个基本点。 我将尽力分析人性自私是如何促成美国内战的。 Key Words:America Civil War,cause,the South,the North,slavery,Confederacy,Union, Selfishness 关键词：美国内战，原因，南方，北方，奴隶制，联邦，联盟，自私 As most of us already know.American Civil War (also known as the Civil War)is a war between north the Union and south the Confederacy.In a sense,it's also a war fought between free man and slaves.But I would rather call it a war fought between two groups of people with different interests and an exact same felling of selfishness. Some basic knowledge of the Civil War will help me explain my position.The Civil War was fought from 1861 to 1865 between the northern free states(the United States or the Union) and several southern slave states(the Confederacy).It costs 8%of all white males'lives aged from 13 to 451(Vinovskis,1990).The total casualties are 1,030,000 which are about 3%of the populations Aside from its shocking death toll,American Civil War is of great significance to the American history."The staggering demands of total war also stimulated industrialization,especially in the heavy industries of iron and coal,machinery and agricultural implements.""The war offered many working opportunities for many women." And from"Gone with the Wind,we can peek at life of the South after the war ended.Harsh as it was for Scarlet,the south economic boomed with the new industrial energy pump. Regarding the long term result,the outcome is good,although it might be considered bad for southern whites.Yet the very causes are many fold.And as to today,there is still no commonly accepted theory on the exact cause of this significant civil war.It has been controversial since the war began.Some put slavery at the center of it,arguing slavery escalated the political tensions between Republicans,who demanded restriction of slavery expansion,and Democrats,most of who wanted to expand slavery making it legitimate in northern free states where slavery was forbidden.Surely,the war is a political issue concerning slavery.But is it all about slavery?I'm afraid others would have to argue. Sectionalism is considered a war cause.At the time,civil war was about to be fought,there at .Howard B.Woods"A panoramic History of American Civilization for Colleges".Peking University Press.2008-06.First Edition.p.164-165.上海交通大学通识核心课程“历史视野下的美国文化”结业论文 1 On the Causes of American Civil War 关于美国内战的原因的探讨 张琪（电院计算机系，大四） Abstract: America Civil War is considered as the most deadly war of American history. There are many causes leading to it. This paper tries to focus on one or two basic point based on a simple hypothesis, that is man are selfish which leads to a selfish party consisting of those man. I will try to analysis how the war is caused by the very human nature of selfishness. 摘要:美国内战是美国历史上伤亡最为惨重的战争之一。内战的原因多种多样，本文从 人性自私以及由自私人组成的党也自私的简单假设出发，主要集中讨论一两个基本点。 我将尽力分析人性自私是如何促成美国内战的。 Key Words: America Civil War, cause, the South, the North, slavery, Confederacy, Union, Selfishness 关键词：美国内战，原因，南方，北方，奴隶制，联邦，联盟，自私 As most of us already know, American Civil War (also known as the Civil War) is a war between north the Union and south the Confederacy. In a sense, it’s also a war fought between free man and slaves. But I would rather call it a war fought between two groups of people with different interests and an exact same felling of selfishness. Some basic knowledge of the Civil War will help me explain my position. The Civil War was fought from 1861 to 1865 between the northern free states(the United States or the Union) and several southern slave states( the Confederacy).It costs 8% of all white males’ lives aged from 13 to 45[1] [2] (Vinovskis, 1990). The total casualties are 1,030,000 which are about 3% of the populations [3] . Aside from its shocking death toll, American Civil War is of great significance to the American history. “The staggering demands of total war also stimulated industrialization, especially in the heavy industries of iron and coal, machinery and agricultural implements.” ” The war offered many working opportunities for many women.” 1 And from “Gone with the Wind”, we can peek at life of the South after the war ended. Harsh as it was for Scarlet, the south economic boomed with the new industrial energy pump. [4] Regarding the long term result, the outcome is good, although it might be considered bad for southern whites. Yet the very causes are many fold. And as to today, there is still no commonly accepted theory on the exact cause of this significant civil war. It has been controversial since the war began. Some put slavery at the center of it, arguing slavery escalated the political tensions between Republicans, who demanded restriction of slavery expansion, and Democrats, most of who wanted to expand slavery making it legitimate in northern free states where slavery was forbidden. Surely, the war is a political issue concerning slavery. But is it all about slavery? I’m afraid others would have to argue. Sectionalism is considered a war cause. At the time, civil war was about to be fought, there at 1 .Howard B. Woods “A panoramic History of American Civilization for Colleges”. Peking University Press.2008-06.First Edition.p.164-165