The American Civil War was caused by flawed institutions that gave disproportionate power to slaveholders in certain states. The Republican Party was formed by people like Abraham Lincoln who believed in a more open, democratic system. Lincoln saw slavery as not just a moral evil, but also as something that denied him and other poor white men economic opportunities. The Republican Party aimed to ensure that all new territories were open to anyone willing to work and be paid for their labor, promoting free labor and capitalism. However, southern plantation owners wanted to expand slavery and maintain their aristocracy, leading to a clash with the Republican Party. The Civil War occurred because the institutions were unable to adapt and continued to empower the southern slave owners. The Republican Party emerged as a critique of this system, and the Confederates went to war with the Union in response to the party's rise to power.