Dbq Essay: The Conflicts Of The Civil War

The name Civil War is misleading because the war was not a class struggle, but a sectional combat, having its roots in political, economic, social, and psychological elements. It has been characterized, in the words of William H. Seward, as the “irrepressible conflict.” In another judgment the Civil War was viewed as criminally stupid, an unnecessary bloodletting brought on by arrogant extremists and blundering politicians. Both views accept the fact that in 1861 there existed a situation that, rightly or wrongly, had come to be regarded as insoluble by peaceful means.

The Civil War was provoked for several reasons which included industry, slavery, and territorial disputes among the Northern states and Southern states of the newly established United States. The first recorded engagement of war between the North and South is documented to have taken place on April 12th, 1861 at The Battle of Fort Sumter. This was the starting point of a war that would claim over 600,000 American lives in a relatively short span of 4 years.

There has been much debate as to whether the Civil War could have been avoided or not. The Evansville Daily Journal argues that the Civil War was inevitable, but Alexander Stephens disagrees and proposes that the war could have been avoided. Stephen’s argument is superior to the Evansville Daily Journal one because it objectively talks about the recent changes in the United States, explains the different views between the North and South, and tries to convince people that a war is not necessary.

The Civil war was not inevitable; it was the result of extremism and failures of leadership on both sides. This war was long forthcoming; we see this conflict as a nation divided or as Lincoln put it a house divided (Doc 4). It was a conflict between pro-slavery southerners and anti-slavery northerners. Both sides felt strongly about their position, leading to neither side backing down. However, this war could have been avoided through a compromise of stronger leadership and less extremism.

take about hundred years later after the Civil War (1861-65) for the United States’ government to pass the Civil Rights Bill in 1964 recognizing the black community’s rights? Basically, the Civil War was about fighting for what kind of labor force was going to prevail. The north represented for a free labor economy while the South fought for the preservation of slavery. As Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor stated that the “wealth and power were not equally distributed in Southern society” (Yamahtta). While a small white proportion owned slaves in the South, the rest contributed in the southern society by maintaining order. In the North, free blacks were an obstacle for whites since they were constantly competing with each other for occupations. As a result, the

The Industrial Revolution that the North was experiencing was great for the country. The factories brought in substantial revenue for the government. This was attained because the factories workers could build faster, and sell larger quantities of the product which meant they could make larger amounts of money rapidly. The Industrial Revolution, however, was only being experienced in the North, and not the South, which eventually led to much difficulty and a disparity between these regions of the country. With the support of the Union, the North wanted the South to join them, but they were so invested in their farm sand plantations that they couldn’t abandon them and build factories, and this is where the economic

The romanticized version of the Civil War creates a picture of the North versus the South with the North imposing on the South. However, after reading “The Making of a Confederate” by William L. Barney, one can see that subdivisions existed before the war was declared. The documents analyzed by Barney primarily focus on the experiences of Walter Lenoir, a southern confederate and a member of the planter elite. His experiences tell a vivid story of a passionate and strongly opinioned participant of the Civil War as well as demonstrate a noticeably different view involving his reasoning when choosing a side. Between analyzing this fantastic piece of literature and other resourceful documents from “Voices of Freedom” by Eric Foner, one

The constant debate over whether America was going to be free or slave led to the inevitability of a civil war. The political tension within the nation surrounding the issue of slavery was ongoing even after a series of compromises. The country was either going to be free or slave and it was evident that the only way to decide this was through a civil war. Through several cases and debates between the views of the North and South, an agreement was still unable to be obtained. The divisions within the nation were growing and no compromise was powerful enough to hold the nation together.

Before the Civil War, the North and South's attempt to resolve matters at any time was through compromise. One significant issue that could not have a solution found over time was slavery. Northerners supported the abolition of slavery. However, the South depended on slavery. As this conflict intensified, the South figured that compromise would no longer function. The South's breaking point was Lincoln's election. The South withdrew from the Union; the Civil War had begun. The South seceded from the Union because of opposition towards slavery, the fear that abolition of slavery was a threat to their way of life, and that Lincoln would get rid of it.

The South’s Secession from the Union was caused by society pressing the differences rather than synthesizing on our similarities, the fear of emancipation, and Abraham Lincoln succeeding in his candidacy for the 1860 presidential election. All of these factors pushed southerners to conclude leaving the Union would be more beneficial rather than staying. Society focusing on the differences between themselves rather than exploring our similarities is one of the main reasons why the south wanted to secede. Document 1 represents this in a letter from Thomas Jefferson to John Holmes in response to the Missouri compromise which he says “Weight the blessings they will throw away, against an abstract principle more likely to be effected by union than

“A house divided against itself cannot stand” (Abraham Lincoln). In other words, the United States, which was split into the North and South, could not stand with the uprising of conflict. The wise words of Abraham Lincoln foreshadowed the Civil War, which would become one of the worst wars in the United State’s history. Disagreement between the northern and southern states began long before the Civil War; in fact, as far back as colonial times. The North and South were not able to accept each other’s differences and come to a compromise, so they divided. During the early years of the republic, these differences between them grew greater as their distrust in each other intensified. Throughout the time period leading up to the Civil War, the

Both regions believed their ideals were proper therefore causing this type of leadership as inconceivable at the time. Northern candidate, Abraham Lincoln was a strong proponent towards the unification of America whether it appeased the northern abolitionists or the southern plantation owner (Doc 4). Similarly Stephen Douglas proposed the idea of popular sovereignty as a means to unify the nation (Doc 5) . His ideals were more similar to the great compromisers-Clay, Webster, and Calhoun- who were deceased. All five of these men had one goal, to unify America, but the conflicting perspectives between Lincoln and Douglas lead to a stalemate, in which no decision was made to save the country. Thus the American Civil War became not an “if” but “when?’

“A house divided against itself cannot stand.”1 These words, spoken by Abraham Lincoln, foreshadowed the war that became the bloodiest in all of the United State's history. The Civil War was a brutal conflict between the North and South; brother against brother. With slavery as the root cause, Southern states had seceded from the Union and were fighting for their independence. They became the Confederate States of America (CSA) and were a force to be reckoned with. The Union, however, put up a fierce struggle to preserve the country. If the Civil War was to be a war of attrition, the North had the upper hand because of its large population, industrialization, raw materials, railroad mileage, and navy. But if the war was short lived, the

The American Civil War, which began in 1861 to 1865, has gone down in history as the one of the most significant events to have ever occurred in the United States of America, thus far. At that time, questions had arose wondering how the United States ever got so close to hitting rock bottom, especially being that it was a conflict within the country itself. Hostility steadily grew through the years dividing the nation further and further, and finally leading to the twelfth day in April 1861 in Fort Sumter, North Carolina. The American Civil War was an irrepressible battle and aside from the obvious physical effects of the war, the disagreement over states rights, the act of slavery, and the raising of tariffs played crucial roles in the

In the Civil War the North had many advantages over the South. The South was outnumbered, out supplied, and pushed into a corner using military tactics. Many things changed because of the Civil War. The military tactics used by the North changed how war was fought from then on. Many changes were made politically; some were only temporary, while others were permanent. After the war was over, the country was reunited and the image of the soul and duty of our country redefined.