Here is a book which will give intermediate grade students some of the background needed to better understand why the United States fought a civil war. There are 4 short chapters entitled: Seeds of Secession, The Birth of the Confederate States of America, The Confederate Government, and The  End of an Era. Each chapter is accompanied by historic photographs and lithographs.

From the very beginning of the United States there was lack of communication between towns and states. Each place created its own laws with little regard or effect on other places, but by the early 1800s this was changing. The U.S. government forced the Southern states to purchase Northern manufactured goods by placing tariffs on the cheaper imported goods. Slavery divided North and South even more, especially when new states or territories were added.  Southern states feared their control over the Supreme Court would lessen if A. Lincoln was elected president.  “Some states believed secession was the only way to preserve slavery against the threat of the abolitionists… the Confederacy was founded ‘upon the great truth that the Negro is not equal to the white man.’ ”  Southern states seceded after the election of A. Lincoln, but before he took office. They thought the war would end once Lincoln’s term of office was over, but he was re-elected.  And finally, the Confederate generals did not have the needed skills to compensate for each others short comings. “Jefferson Davis was known for being stubborn… [and] argued over how to proceed.”