The Reasons Why the South Went to War The Civil War which lasted from 1861 to 1877 was mainly caused by the diverging society between the North and the South. The North and the South had different goals. There were many factors that led to the war and the chief ones were political and economic differences between the North and the South. The North's aggression to control the South had led to the point where it was intolerable. The issue on slavery was one of the cause of the Civil War. Slavery and slave trades had become a big part of the South's economy. The slaves were nee