The American Civil War: Causes and its Implications
The American civil war (simply known as the civil war) was fought for four years, from 1861 to 1865, between the Union forces and the Confederate forces (Varon, 2008). Eleven states of the 34 states that made up the United States declared secession from the union and formed the Confederate States of America or the Confederacy (Towers, 2012). This prompted the then president of the union, Abraham Lincoln to wage war on the Confederacy with the aim of preserving the union. This paper discusses the factors and/or circumstances that led to the civil war and the implications of the war on the United States.
Causes of the civil war
Slavery
Slavery was the main cause of conflict between the North and South. With industrialization and urbanization, slavery had been phased out in the North and many Northerners felt slavery should be abolished as it was uncivilized and did not sit well with the nation’s beliefs of liberties and rights (Towers, 2012). However, the South was characterized by large plantations producing mainly cotton, which depended on cheap slave labor. Therefore, they felt that if slavery was abolished, it would ruin their economy since they would not be able to run their plantations profitably
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The Republicans in the Congress were controlled by the Northerners while the Democrats by the Southerners (Varon, 2008). They usually took opposite stands when drafting laws such as taxes. The political influence in the federal government based in Washington D.C. was also changing with the Northerners taking power as result of rapid increase in populations as opposed to the South (Keegan, 2010). The Northerners were industrialists who depended on paid labor while the Southerners were agriculturalists based on slave labor (McPherson, 2007). This created perceptions that the country is divided into
The little children are freezing to death. My people, some of them, have run away to the hills, and have no blankets, no food. No one knows where they are -- perhaps freezing to death. I want to have time to look for my children, and see how many of them I can find. Maybe I shall find them among the dead. Hear me, my chiefs! I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands I will fight no more forever."
In 1850, a document called the Fugitive Slave Act was passed. Primarily, this document dealt with the reclaiming of runaway slaves. This law allowed southerners to call upon the federal government to capture runaway slaves who had fled the South and may be living in the North. The Fugitive Slave Act and the laws that went with it only caused controversy in the North. This split the North and South. In reaction to this, some northern states passed laws forbidding state officials to enforce the Fugitive Slave Law, which only angered the southern states. Northerners had become aware of the hypocrisy of slavery and became resolved to end slavery. Many abolitionists started to take action to help slaves escape. This major controversy over the
A war that originated because the nation was divided ultimately marked the beginning of a truly unified United States. The Civil War put to rest the increasing sectionalism that divided the North, the South, and the newly colonized West. At the root were the issues of slavery in the South, and the attempt of the Southern states to withdraw from the Union. Although many lives and untold millions were lost in personal belongings, livestock, and structures, the Civil War set in motion the progression towards a unified Nation. During the 18th and 19th century, slavery was a very significant aspect of the development of the nation. The economic, social, and political development of the
In the history of the United States, African Americans have always been discriminated against. When Africans first came to America, they were taken against their will and forced to work as laborers. They became slaves to the rich, greedy, lazy Americans. They were given no pay and often badly whipped and beaten. African Americans fought for their freedom, and up until the Civil War it was never given to them. When the Civil War began, they wanted to take part in fighting to free all slaves. Their opportunity to be soldiers and fight along side white men equally did not come easily, but eventually African Americans proved themselves able to withstand the heat of battle and fight as true American heroes. Ever since the beginning of America there have been consequential events that led to the American Civil War. Throughout history, there has been much controversy over whether this war was or was not unavoidable. Upon looking back into the chronicles of history and the longtime conflict between the North and the South, one can see that the American Civil War was undeniably inevitable. And in a time when black people were supposed to be quiet, submissive and not involved or interested in politics, and the epidemic of racial prejudice was heavy in the North as well as the South, Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, and Frederick Douglass, and many more, dared to speak out.
are some common misconceptions about the American Civil War that need to be dealt with. Firstly, the American Civil war ended slavery, this is not true. As a matter of fact, the Emancipation Proclamation only freed slaves in states that rebelled against the Union. To mention nothing of, the slaves in the north were finally abolished some 8 months
The Civil War was possibly America’s bloodiest war and claimed more American lives than any other war. It may have been preventable if the issues dividing the United States into the north and south had been dealt with. Instead, these issues were left to evolve, separating the United States into two opposing
The growing decline in morale and suffrage on the Confederate home front eventually led to its collapse between 1864 and 1865. Seeing as it was the main arena for combat during the Civil War, the south felt many effects from the war (N). The prolonged war ultimately led to an economic decline and lack of resources in the Confederacy along with a negative sentiment among southerners (N). Due to the internal demise, the Confederacy could not carry on a war without the support of its home front.
Slavery was the most important cause of the Civil War, because this single issue divided the North and South to begin with. The ideological differences between the North and South led to economic differences, conflicts over newly acquired territories, disputes over the constitution, and political extremism. The Election of 1860 was the culmination of these disputes and caused the South to secede in 1861 and guided the way towards the Civil War.
Slavery, in the South and as well in the North, played a huge role of the culture of their societies. The North had a general belief in abolitionism, while the South opposed that idea. All the economic reasons led to the cultural differences. The South viewed slavery as a necessity to their economy. The North believed it was wrong to own a human being. The South contradicted this idea with the North’s use of cheap labor in its factories.
In the early years of the republic, when the Northern states were providing for immediate or gradual emancipation of the slaves, many leaders had supposed that slavery would die out. In 1787 the Northwest Ordinance had banned slavery in the Northwest Territory. In 1808 many southerners thought that slavery would end soon. The expectations turned out to be false.
Did you know that in the Civil War, America lost the most men ever? After four years and over 600,000 American lives, the Union (North) prevailed in wearing down and forcing the Confederacy (South) to surrender. Eli Whitney’s cotton gin, the Missouri Compromise, and the Dred Scott case contributed greatly to the Civil War. After the Civil War, the Southern economy was devastated with millions of homeless, while the northern economy boomed.
The war with the most death of Americans was not the World Wars, Cold War, Vietnam War or Korean War, but the Civil War. The Civil War is one of the most monumental moments in the United States that threaten the stability of the Union. The United States was split into two opposing sides, the Union and the Confederates, with opposing ideas; Americans pinned against one another in combat for their ideals and goals. The Civil War has multiple causes, but the most renowned reason was the abolishment of slavery. With the conclusion of the Civil War and the defeat of the Confederates, many efforts were made to establish the freedom of the slaves, such as the Thirteenth Amendment of the Constitution, and the status of freedman. However, with the discontent that was harbored in the former Confederates, “white southerners [tried to] reestablished civil authority in the former Confederate states in 1865 and 1866”; this thus led to the creation of the Black Codes ("Black Codes." History.com). The white southerners tried to regain control over freed slaves, acquire cheap labor and establish white supremacy through the Black Codes. The Black Code was mocking the efforts of the civil war since it recognized and limited the rights established in the civil war for the freed slaves, and recreated the slave like working environment before the civil war.
The United States Civil War can be considered as one of the darkest times in American history. The Southern states were fighting for their way of life, and the Northern states were fighting to preserve the Union. The war had begun in the year of 1861, and it would end in 1865 with the capture of Jefferson Davis and surrender of Robert E. Lee. The war had begun at the battle of Fort Sumter. After this battle, the newly elected Abraham Lincoln called for volunteers to join the Union forces. In 1862, Union and Confederate forces would meet again at the battle of Fort Henry and Donelson. With the Union succeeding at pushing the Confederate forces further back into the South, General Grant and his army made their way down the Tennessee River. The forces would meet again at the Battle of Shiloh and Pittsburg Landing. There have been many arguments supporting the theory that the Confederacy did in fact win at the Battle of Shiloh. Although the Union lost more troops at this battle, the Confederacy failed in many ways. In order to determine how exactly they failed, it is important to study what the goal of the Confederacy was at Shiloh and whether or not they accomplished this goal. In this essay, the Confederacy’s goals for attacking Grant’s troops at Shiloh and their failure to accomplish those goals will show just how unsuccessful the Confederate army truly was at this battle.1
As we take a look back on how American has become the nation we both love and hate, we cannot help but think of the Civil War. This war divided a nation and the outcome set the stage for how our nation still operates to this day. The issues between the North and the South, or as they become known back in 1861, The Union and The Confederate States of America, were not something that could have been negotiated. The war lasted four years and ended with victory for the North. I would have to say that I agree with Historians that believe the Civil War was inevitable. The type of conflict between the North and South was ultimately about money and issues like that most likely can never be solved peacefully and without bloodshed. This
In 1861, the American Civil War commenced after many years of tension building between the Northern and Southern states. The main reason of the tension was said to be the debate of slavery between the North and South, and although some documents support this claim, it is false. The war had been brewing since 1607, before slavery was even introduced to the colonies that would become the United States of America. The debate of slavery did play a major part in the civil war; however it did so in supporting the true cause of the civil war. The main cause of the American Civil War was not the debate of slavery, but rather Europe’s role in the American economy.