There were many reasons for the outbreak of the Civil War, a war that fundamentally changed the United States and inspired some of the greatest thinkers to write some thought-provoking literary works. Many are fascinated by the civil war and want to make sense of what happened. It was a bloody war in which Americans killed other Americans. The questions and answers that arose during the war would reshape American society and provide an answer to the much-debated topic of slavery. Each side had a deeply held reason for going to war. There are many factors involved in the reasons for the war which has captured and fascinated the attention of Americans for many years. The causes of the civil war are multiple. One of the fundamental reasons behind the Civil War was the “uncompromising differences between free and slave states regarding the power of the national government to prohibit slavery in territories which had not yet become states” (McPherson). This was a heated debate within the government and among the citizens of the United States. Limiting the states that could have slavery would limit the Southern states that already allowed slavery, thus making it impossible for slavery to expand. This made the South nervous because the slave population continued to grow and without expansion they would soon be greatly outnumbered. Many feared an uprising, especially given the importance of the abolitionist movement. Abraham Lincoln was elected the first Republican president in 1860, an event that unnerved many Southerners. Although he was a moderate Republican compared to many staunch abolitionists, Lincoln's presidential victory frightened the Southern states into secession. Lincoln never accepted the Southern state's claim to... half the document... cross-party debate. Ultimately, the preservation of the United States was the cause of success and the world saw the end of an obsolete institution. Works Cited Blight, David, Perf. The Civil War and Reconstruction Era, 1845-1877. Perf. Damn it, David. Open Yale, 2008. Film. .Levine, Robert S. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. 7th edition. Volume B. New York: Norton, 2007. 1696. Print.McPherson, Dr. James. "A Brief Overview of the American Civil War." Civil War Trust. CivilWar.org, 2011. Web. November 5, 2011. “Popular Literature During the Civil War.” Virginia Encyclopedia. Virginia Encyclopedia, November 6, 2008. Web. November 6 2011. .