In 1861, the United States faced one of the costliest civil wars in history. Hundreds of thousands of Americans lost their lives. Decades before the war, the North and the South developed in different directions, and several events occurred that led to the nation's bloody war. It arose from deep divisions in the economy, society and politics. The central issue was slavery, as the French politician Alexis de Tocqueville had observed, “…almost all the differences that can be noted between the character of Americans in the Southern and Northern States had their origin in slavery” (Rourk et al , 2009, p. 437). Politicians tried to reconcile the differences between the North and the South with various compromises, but they failed to prevent further conflicts that would lead to war. Therefore, civil war was inevitable. Shortly after the American Revolution, the North and South developed different economies. The North went through a transition from hand-made to machine-made production of goods. This included the evolution of factories where work was done on a large scale in a single centralized location (Economic Growth and the First Industrial Revolution, n.d.). Not only manufacturing industry was mechanized, but also agriculture. With the invention of mechanical reapers and the steel plow, farming became less physically demanding and farmers' productivity increased dramatically (Rourk et al, 2009, p. 397). The Industrial Revolution stimulated economic growth and improved living standards in the North. Many immigrants, mainly from Germany and Ireland, were attracted to the Northern states, looking for an opportunity to improve their lives. Furthermore, the industrialized economy was based on a free… paper center… ynet.com. Retrieved December 12, 2013, from http://www.historynet.com/causes-of-the-civil-war Cotton and African-American Life. (n.d.). ushistory.org. Retrieved December 12, 2013, from http://www.ushistory.org/us/22b.asp Economic Growth and the First Industrial Revolution. (n.d.). ushistory.org. Retrieved December 12, 2013, from http://www.ushistory.org/us/22a.aspRoark, J.L., Johnson, M.P., Cohen, P.C., Stage, S., Lawson, A., Hartmann, S.M. (2009). The American Promise: A History of the United States to 1877. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin's: press.The Kansas-Nebraska Act. (n.d.). ushistory.org. Retrieved December 12, 2013, from http://www.ushistory.org/us/31a.asp Trigger Events of the Civil War. (n.d.). Civil War Trust. Retrieved December 12, 2013, from http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/civil-war-overview/triggerevents.html