There were many benefits and drawbacks of European and Native American interaction. Firstly, after Christopher Columbus first discovered the new world, Many people began migrating over to live there. The peak of this interaction was known as the Colombian Exchange, which had its good and bad sides. A benefit of the Colombian exchange is the trade in food between the Natives and the Europeans. Many new planting methods and crops were introduced to both sides. Tomatoes and potatoes for example. However, the Colombian exchange also transferred European diseases to the Indians, who could not tolerate them and many died. The European-Indian interaction may have seemed good at first, but it soon turned sour. The colonists began to fight with the natives over the land, killing them and pushing them further back. Due to manifest destiny, the Indians got pushed farther and farther back by the Americans, and their populations began dwindling. The whites felt a natural superiority over the Indians, and tried to use them as slaves and servants. This was an early example of racism. However, due to the Indians resilience, black slaves and indentured servants had to be important, and that started a whole new set of problems. However, looking at the picture differently, it was a good thing that the natives were weak militarily, or otherwise the colonies and eventually the U.S. may never have been founded.
The Patriots, Loyalists, and Neutral people in the English Colonies each had their own unique perspectives. The Patriots were the colonists who desired separation from Britain. They say themselves and the thirteen colonies as one people who were separate from Britain, and were frustrated with Britain's harsh treatment. Actions such as the Sugar Act, the Stamp Act, taxation without representation, and the Boston Massacre all further angered the Patriots. Protests escalated to rebellions like the Boston Tea Party, and eventually the Declaration of Independence led to the war with Britain. The Loyalists on the other hand were colonists who wanted to remain under Britain's rule. Many Loyalists thought the British would win anyways, so there was no point in becoming rebels, and that Britain would do a better job at governing that any fresh colonial government. In reality, the taxes that the Patriots were complaining about were less than the ones in Britain, and who would not want to be governed and protected by the worlds greatest superpower? The neutralists were a group of colonists who were in between the perspectives of the Patriots and Loyalists. They were not sure which side to turn to. Maybe they wanted to stay under the protection of the crown, but did not think the taxes were fair. Many neutralists did not pick a side due to the fear of losing. They were not sure who would win if war broke out, and did not have strong enough beliefs to choose one side. So, they simply remained neutral and did not pick a side.
There were several Social, economic, and political causes of the Civil War. The main social causes were based on the issue of slavery through a moral perspective. Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel, Uncle Toms Cabin, left a large impact on the U.S. by revealing the horrors of slavery. Social factors led to an increasing number of abolitionists- people who wanted slavery to end. The abolitionists were another cause of the civil war, as the contrast and tensions between the opinions of the North and South grew due to the opposing beliefs. The main Economic causes were based on the differing economies of the North and South. While the North had wage labor to drive its economy, the south relied on the usage of slave labor. The importance of slaves to the south again touches back to the social differences that the North and South had. The South would not set their slaves free because they relied on them to do work on the plantations and in the fields. The main Political causes were increased with several events. First is the Supreme Court ruling of the Dred Scott case, in which it was stated that blacks were no U.S. citizens, and could not sue in court. The decision to execute John Brown after his failed slave uprising, was another political cause. Both of these events contributed to the feeling of anti-slavery in the North, further extending the social difference between the North and South. At the peak of political causes, was the election of Abraham Lincoln as president. The southern states began seceding, fearing that Abe would abolish slavery and ruin their livelihood. Soon after, the Civil War Began.