The Civil war was the most devastating conflict on American soil. It pitted state against state, family against family, and in some cases brother against brother. Before the war was over more than 1million Americans had been killed or wounded. For the south it meant an entire way of life was gone. Nowhere was the conflict more intense than in the Border States. The Border States were slave-holding states next to the free states. They were: Delaware, Kentucky, Missouri, Virginia, and Maryland. To truly understand how these deep divisions occurred we must first explore the initial causes of the Civil War (Bailey 1).
             At the beginning of the 18th century you began to see differences in the north and the south, it was almost as if they were becoming two separate countries. With different geographies and climates the north and south developed different economical and social patterns. In the north the hilly terrain and colder climate tended to keep farms small, therefore northerners became seamen, shipbuilders, merchants, and factory workers. This type of development spawned the growth of large cities and urban areas.
             The south, on the other hand, had the plantation system which was a very large farm dealing usually with one crop. Slavery was essential in maintaining this system. The south simply provided the raw materials for the northern manufactures. Under this system the plantation owners often felt like they had no control over the prices that they received for their goods (Bailey 20,21).
             By 1820, there were two separate and distinct countries. While this was going on there were series of political crises beginning in 1820, which were seemingly resolved but only deepened the split. Most of these crises were based on the statehood of territories and keeping the equilibrium of free states to slave states. The first of these was the Missouri Compromise. Because Missouri settlers came mostly from the south congress knew that i...