Fort Sumpter's Lesson: The Cause Of The Civil War

Lincoln inaugural appealed the secessionists in the Southern. Lincoln made promises in defending the rights of the state and also protecting the slaves in states where slavery existed. He clearly put across that, he will defend the Union and the Constitution. In his speech, he pleaded in finding a common ground. His speech appeared conciliatory to the Northerners, however, to the southern people, the speech was reportedly, like the declaration of the start of a war. The next morning after his inauguration, the garrison at Fort Sumter was reported to be forced to surrender unless there was a resupply. The Government of Confederate claimed the fort, and looked for reinforcements as an action of war. Surrendering the fort would have only strengthened the cause of

After this incident Lincoln declared that all of the remaining states in the Union should send their troops to recapture the forts that the Southerners had taken. Most Northerners thought their troops were supreme and they thought that a quick and brutal victory would stop the rebellion. Because of this Lincoln only called for volunteers for 90 days. This made four more states secede, one of them was the conceited state Virgina, and

The Civil War that occurred was one of the darkest times in our history as a country. It was a time where there was a complete breakdown of social and political systems. Hundreds of thousands were killed and hundreds of thousands more were aversely affected. However, it was also a time of remembrance and significant moral progress. It is remembered as the turning point in American History and would be the foundation for the Civil Rights movement many years later.

The Civil War is known as a turning point in America, the road to ending slavery, while first turning a nation against each other.

Northern troops were positioned at Fort Sumter in South Carolina, when the Southern states succeed from the Union. As a result, Lincoln faced the most difficult decision of his life. The troops there needed food and supplies, or they would die. If Lincoln sent armed reinforcements to the Fort, the South would assume it was an act of aggression and fire upon the union soldiers. Lincoln’s actions would either start a war between family and friends or recognize the South’s secession as legitimate and separate America into two different countries. His decision would decide the fate of the men in the fort and the country.

On March 5, 1861 the day after President Lincoln inauguration of the United States, The president received a message (Beringer, Why the South lost the Civil War). In attempt by the confederate government to settle differences with the union were sponged by Lincoln and the confederate felt it could no longer tolerate a foreign force in its territory (Goldfield, 2002). Lincoln ingeniously devised a plan that would case the Confederates to fire the first shot and hoped to inspire the states that had not yet seceded to unite in effort to restore the union (Goldfield, 2002). Major Robert Anderson, who commanded the United States forces at Charleston, made the decision to withdraw from the land and forts surrounding Charleston to the harbor fortress of Fort Sumter because of the dangerous situations (Davis, 1958). He commanded almost 100 troops and desperately needed reinforcements with supplies of both food and ammunition (Schweikart, 2004).

Though South Carolina was well-supported by the Confederate militia as they flooded Charleston with aid for its cause, Fort Sumter did not deliver the expected defensibility. More than three thousand militia members arrived ready to defend the secession and rid Fort Sumter of its Union occupation. Major Anderson was staffed with about 80 Union soldiers to defend Fort Sumter. However, the fort’s construction was never completed following its inception in 1820, and it was not equipped with a full armament of weapons, either. It was intended to maintain an armament of 135 canons, but only 15 canons were in usable conditions, including mounting. The five foot thick walls were intended to be the defensive requirement from a land based attack from

The battle of Fort Sumter took place in South Carolina near Charleston, April 12-14,186,. The fort was located in the middle of the harbor . This was the starting battle on the war. In the beginning Confederate batteries opened fire on the fort, and continued for 34 hours. The Union couldn't keep up, until on Saturday April 13 they surrendered the fort. During the war there were no deaths from either side, although during the surrender there was an explosion that caused 2 union deaths. Following the battle, there was a widespread support from both the North and South for further military action. Lincoln immediately called for 75,000 volunteers. The Civil War had

Who remembers the very first battle of the Civil War? Maybe, it wasn't as eventful as the others, but that doesn't mean it wasn't as important. This fort had been the source of tension between the Confederacy and the Union, for months.

The Civil War started because of the disagreement, of free and not free. They both wanted the right to use the national government to their advantage, and make the territory that where not states free or in favor of slavery. When Abraham Lincoln won election in 1860 he promised that he would keep the slavery out of the territories. This did not go over very well for some areas that are very southern, and farm oriented. These territories in the Deep South proceeded to succeed from the others and form the confederate states of America. This resulted in the upper or northern states getting angry because they did not want slavery. The north did not accept the fact that the southern territories tried to succeed, and refused to acknowledge the legitimacy. This made them fear the fact that the United States were not so united anymore, and they very well could fracture into many smaller countries, not one large united country. This may have made lots of people fear starting a war, but they did not have a choice. Each side believed in what they were fighting for.

What caused the Civil War? To many, this is a simple question to answer; slavery was the cause of the Civil War. However, there was more than just slavery that led the Union to the Civil War. The Kansas-Nebraska Act was significantly influential to that start of the Civil War because of the hypothetical repeal of the Missouri Compromise, the issues with voting, and Bleeding Kansas.

The Civil War was the deadliest war American war. More Americans died than in any war America has taken part in. The Civil War erupted in 1861 between the American states in the north and the former American states in the south. A separate country fighting against itself. What started this much bloodshed and anger? Because of the moral disagreements, economical differences, and political imbalances between the North and South the Civil War was triggered and the deadliest erupted.

In the South, there were 1.2 million military-aged slaves that could not be used for fighting in the unprepared protracted war. About 75 percent of Southern males fought the war, as compared to about half of Northern men. There was great wealth in the South, but it was primarily tied up in the slave economy. Eighty percent of the labor force worked on the farm because of its fertile soil and warm climate which made it easy to produce crops such as cotton. Being that said, agriculture production was very profitable, they didn't see the need for industrial development. Although two-thirds of Southerners owned no slaves at all there were almost as many blacks (slaves and free) in the South as there were whites. The Confederate leaders were confident

One event that I learned in class today is the civil war. This event got my attention because it told me what the price of freedom really is. The Civil War started when free state slaves and the slave states was at constant war with each other ( not physical but verbal). The slave states wanted to keep slaves (obviously) and the free states wanted all slaves to be free, so the North and the South did not want to compromise and the south seceded from the north. One other major event that lead to the Civil War was the taking over of Fort Sumter, that day the confederate army lead by Beauregard took the base over and the leader of the Union Major Robert surrendered and left the next day. This event lead to a lot of wars in the future to come,

The Confederate States wished for a peaceful parting from the United States, but it was not to be. After some hesitation, Abraham Lincoln sent provisions to Fort Sumter, which was located in South Carolina but manned by Union forces, although he did not send the requested troops. President Davis ordered the immediate evacuation of Fort Sumter, but the commander refused. Two days later, on April 12, 1861, the Confederacy opened fire on the fort. After more than a day of shelling, during which more than 5,000 artillery rounds struck Fort Sumter, the commander surrendered (The Civil War, pp. 269-274). Remarkably, neither side suffered any causalities during this attack. It was a deceptively bloodless beginning to the bloodiest war in American