Before getting into any specific details, the precipitating causes of the American Civil War were (1) John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry and (2), the election of Abraham Lincoln. The first reason was not very deep at all. John Brown was a man who was feared and hated in the South. He hated slavery and was committed to doing all he could to end it. He settled in Kansas and was involved in some of the violence that took place there. In 1856 he went to Pottowatomic Creek which was a southern settlement. He had a group of men with him and they attacked and killed 6 slave-holding men at Dutch Henry's Crossing. Brown and his men then disappeared. In October of 1859, he attacked the town of Harper's Ferry, Virginia, which had a Federal Armory. They seized a gun factory and an arsenal where military equipment was kept. …
